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15- ^:^ hi_a.^li 'NOioIEl AlBiJlTSOI^. 




THE LIFE 

II 



OF 



AJOR-GENERAL. 



WILLIAM HEIVRY HARRISON: 



COMPRISING A BRIEF ACCOUNT 



OF HIS 



IMPORTANT CIVIL AND MILITARY SERVICES, 



AND AN 



ACCURATE DESCRIPTION 



OF THE 



Otoimctl at l!!^tncennts iuttii Eccumseh, 



AS WELL AS THE 



VICTORIES OF TIPPECANOE, FORT MEIGS AND THE THAMES. 



PHILADELPHIA: 

PUBLISHED BY 

GRIGG & ELLIOT, 9 NORTH FOURTH ST. 

AND T. K. & P. G. COLLINS, No. 1 LODGE ALLEY. 

1840. 



Entered according to Act of Congress, in tlie year 1840, by 

T, K. & P. G. Collins, 

in the Office of tlie Clerk of the District Court of the Eastern DfetricS 

of Pennsylvania. 



STEUEOTYPliD BV L JOUXSOM. 



FRINTED BY T. K. & P. O. C0U.IXS, PHILA.DELrHlA. 



LIFE OF 

GENERAL WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON. 



CHAPTER I. 



8ketch of the Life of the Father of Harrison — Services in the House of Burgesses — 
Takes a decided part with the Whigs in the American Revolution — Elected a 
member of the Continental Congress — Anecdote — Important services in Congress 
— Calls up Resolutions declaring America independent — Reports and signs De- 
claration of Independence — Revolutionary anecdote — Birth of William Henry 
Harrison — Educated by the immortal Morris, the Financier of the Revolution, and 
Dr. Rush, both Signers of the Declaration of Independence — Determines to enter the 
Army, then struggling with the Indians on the Frontier — -Commissioned by Wash- 
ington — Hardships and dangers of the Service — Defeat of St. Clair — Appointment 
of Wayne — Victory — Gallantry of Harrison elicits the admiration and praise of 
Wayne — Victory of Maumee Rapids — Harrison again distinguished, and again 
publicly complimented by his Commander — Peace with the Indians— Harrison 
promoted — Appointed to the command of Fort Washington. 

William Henry Harrison was born in Virginia, on the ^th 
day of February, 1773, at Berkley on the James River, about 
twenty-five miles below Richmond. He was the third son of, 
Benjamin Harrison, one of the signers of the Declaration of 
Independence, and subsequently Governor of Virginia. Benja- 
min Harrison* was one of the earliest and most conspicuous 
patriots, and the most active, devoted, and fearless political 
leaders of the Revolution, His services during and after that 
eventful period, were inferior in importance to those of but few 
of his compatriots. Before he had attained his twenty-first year, 
he was elected to represent his native county in the House 



* The facts connected with the life of Benjamin Harrison are taken from Sander 
son's " Lives of the Signers of the Declaration of Independence." Vide Life of 
Benjamin Harrison. 

3 



4 THE LIFE OF 

of Burgesses, of Virginia. This he did with so much abiUty 
and effect, as to attract immediately the attention of the British 
government In order to rid themselves of the opposition of 
one who had already proved himself a stanch and powerful 
friend of the People, they proposed to introduce him, notwith- 
standing his immature age, into the Executive Council of the 
State— a body corresponding in character with the English 

Privy Council. 

The oppression of the King of Great Britain having been 
aheady felt throughout the colonies, this proposal, notwith- 
standing its advantages, was promptly rejected, and Mr. Har- 
rison TOOK SIDES WITH THE PEOPLE IN THE APPROACHING 
STRUGGLE BETWEEN THEM AND THE CrOWN. 

On the 14th of November, 1764, he was one of the commit- 
tee to prepare a remonstrance against the odious Stamp Act, 
which the British Cabinet at that time contemplated. From 
this time forward, in company with such men as Lee, Henry, 
Nichols, and others, his whole energies were directed towards 
a vindication of the rights of the People against the 

ENCROACHMENTS OF THE CrOWN. 

He was a member of the first Continental Congress, which 
assembled in Philadelphia on the 5th of September, 1774. It is 
well known that the proceedings of this body were conciliatory 
and pacific in their character. They adopted an address to the 
Crown, and resolved to await quietly its efi"ect. 

In the year 1775, Mr. Harrison again appeared as a delegate 
from Virginia, in the Continental Congress. 

Shortly after Congress had met, the chair, which had been 
before occupied by Mr. Harrison's brother-in-law, Peyton Ran- 
dolph, became vacant. Congress was divided in the choice of 
his successor, between Mr. Harrison and the patriotic John Han- 
cock. Mr. Harrison promptly yielded to Mr. Hancock; and 
when the latter, through distrust in his experience and capacity 
to discharge the duties of a situation so trying, for a moment 
hesitated to take the chair, Mr. Harrison, with practical good 
humour ''seized the modest candidate in his athletic arms, and. 
placed him in the presidential chair ;" then turning to the 
members, he exclaimed, " We will show Mother Britain 

HOW LITTLE WE CARE FOR HEB, BY MAKING A MASSACHUSETTS 



GENERAL HARRISON. 5 

MAN OUR President, whom she has excluded from pardon 

BY a public proclamation." 

On the 4th of Jui)6, this year, Mr. Harrison was appointed on 
a committee to place America in a state of defence ; and, after 
a month's deliberation, the committee made a report, which 
formed the basis of the present miUtia system of the United 
States. In September of this year, he was one of a committee 
who, in conjunction with the immortal Washington, arranged 
a plan for the future support of the army. He was the Chair- 
man of the committee through whose agency the gallant La- 
fayette and his companions were induced to enter into the 
struggle for independence ; and shortly after, he was appointed 
a member of the Board of War. 

On the 10th of June, 177G, Harrison called up the resolutions 
by which the colonies were declared independent, and which 
authorized a Declaration of Independence to be prepared ; 
and on the ever memorable 4th of July, 1776, he reported 
that instrument, (our present glorious Declaration of Independ- 
ence,) as having received the approbation of Congress. His 

NAME will be FOUND AFFIXED TO IT, AMONG THOSE OF THE 
OTHER DELEGATES FROM VIRGINIA. 

A curious anecdote is on record, illustrative of the cheerful 
temper and intrepidity of the man whom we thus find iden- 
tified with every turn in the fortunes of his country ; at a 
period when that country was convulsed by a struggle in 
which all its rights and very existence were involved. Elbridge 
Gerry, a delegate from Massachusetts, as slender and spare as 
Mr. Harrison was vigorous and portly, stood beside Har- 
rison, whilst signing the Declaration. Harrison turned round 
to him with a smile,, as he raised his hand from the paper, and 
said, " When the hanging scene comes to be exhibited, I shall 
have all the advantage over you. It will be over with me in a 
minute, but you will be kickmg in the air half an hour after I 
am gone." 

Mr. Harrison continued in Congress until the year 177S, 
when he retired, and afterwards filled some of the most im- 
portant offices in his native state. In the year 1782, on the 
resignation of Mr. Nelson, he was elected Governor of Virginia, 
and was afterwards re-elected until he became constitutionally 

a2 



6 THE LIFE OF 

ineligible. He continued to serve his country until the year 
1791, This year he was unanimously elected to the Legisla- 
ture. The day following he died, full of years and full of 
honour. 

William Henry Harrison, as we have before stated, was 
born on the ninth of February, in the year 1773.* His youth, 
when impressions are the deepest and most indelible, was 
passed amid the scenes and patriots of our glorious Revolution; 
and it was then and there that he imbibed that devotion to free- 
dom and his country, which has since ranked his name among 
the most illustrious of America's champions. His father died 
before he had attained his seventeenth year, leaving him no in- 
heritance but an untarnished name and a virtuous example. 
Whilst he has imitated the latter, he has added resplendent 
lustre to the former. 

The care of his education, which had been commenced at 
Hampden Sydney College, was committed to his guardian, the 
illustrious Robert Morris, a signer of the Declaration of Inde- 
pendence, the financier of the Revolution, and one of his 
father's most intimate friends. Of the patriots of '76, no one 
(Washington alone excepted) made sacrifices so great, or effected 
so much for his country, as Robert Morris. He fed our famished 
soldiers out of his private purse ; and at the darkest era of the 
contest, saved the cause of liberty from impending destruction. 
Such was the patriot sage who contributed to form the mind 
of Harrison. From him was received, by example and precept, 
inculcations of that love of liberty, courage, devotedness and 
patriotism, whichhaveevercharacterizedthelatter. Under the 
guardianship of the illustrious Morris, and the instruction of 
the distinguished Dr. Benjamin Rush, also a signer of the De- 
claration of Independence, Harrison commenced the study of 
medicine in Philadelphia, which he prosecuted until he arrived 
at his nineteenth year. At this early period in life, with a dis- 
interested and ardent devotion, for which history has few pa- 
rallels, he determined to abandon the peaceful walks of science, 
and cast his fortunes with the army of his country, at that time 



* See Hall's " Memoir of the Public Services of William Henry Harrison," for 
these facts. 



GENERAL HARRISON. 7 

warmly engaged in defending our frontier from tiie invasion of 
the Indians. His wishes were opposed, not only by Mr. Morris, 
but by his other friends ; and finding it in vain to solicit their 
interposition, and resolved to devote his life to the cause of his 
bleeding country, he applied in person to the Immortal Wash- 
ington. The Father of his Country, seeing in young Harrison 
the germ of future greatness, cheerfully complied with his re- 
quest, and in November, 1791, when but nineteen years of age, 
conferred on him the rank of Ensign in the United States army. 
Immediately on receiving his commission, he repaired to the 
west, and joined his regiment then stationed at Fort Washing- 
ton, shortly after the defeat of the gallant but ill-starred St. Clair. 

The first tour of duty he performed, was in the succeeding 
winter, when he marched through sleet and snow at the head 
of his detachment, with his knapsack on his back, to the fatal 
battle-field of St. Clair, to inter the bonet* of the slain ! 

It will hardly be imagined that this transition from the full 
enjoyment of the comforts and luxuries of a city life, to a win- 
ter's campaign against a savage foe, amid the pathless wilder- 
ness of the western frontier, could be accomplished without 
great sacrifice of ease and imminent jeopardy of life. How 
few are there, at this day, of the pampered sons of fortune re- 
siding in our great cities, who would willingly encounter the 
same hardships and privations for the pi election of their de- 
fenceless countrymen from the fire-brand, the tomanawk, and 
scalping-knife of the savage ! The youthful Harrison had been 
accustomed to live amidst the most refined society ; his only 
employment had been the pursuit of knowledge. He aban- 
doned the former for the rude fare of a frontier camp, and ex- 
changed his books for the sword. 

No period of our history has been more gloomy than that 
in which Harrison joined the army. The British, in defiance 
of the treaty of peace, still held possession of some of cur 
most important frontier posts. Among others, Detroit, Niagara, 
and Mackinaw were still in their hands. From these, the 
agents of the British Government supplied the hostile Indians 
along our border, with the munitions of war, and continually 
stirred them up to the massacre of the defenceless white popu- 
lation. There appeared to be no security but m the rifle. The 



8 THE LIFE OF 

hatchet was iinburied, and the cakimet of peace extinguished. 
The population of the west, scattered over an immense extent 
of country, which rendered intercourse difficult, and mutual 
aid impossible, fell, one by one, bleeding victims of savage 
ferocity. 

Things had remained in this state, with little intermission, 
since the treaty of peace. 

At the period spoken of, the contest had assximed an aspect 
of appalling importance. The various savage tribes had con- 
solidated their forces, under the justly renowned chief. Little 
Turtle, into a confederacy so formidable, as to call forth the 
utmost energies of the government, to protect the frontier in- 
habitants from indiscriminate slaughter. The spirit of the 
hardy yeomen of the west, promptly responsive to every call, 
and equal to every danger, began to shrink beneath continued 
defeat. To die by the tomahawk or scalping knife, had been 
the lot of all who had gone forth : no wonder then that the 
hardiest avoided^ a war, in which victory brought no laurels? 
and defeat came accompanied by death, prolonged by all the 
ingenuity of savage torture. 

Such was the field into which young Harrison entered at 
nineteen years of age, in obedience to the dictates of patriotic 
duty ; we say patriotic duty, for to no other motive can we 
' ascribe the voluntary sacrifices which he made. 

Those who served on the frontiers, fought for their homes ; 
to protect their families whilst living, or avenge them when 
dead. Those who comm,anded had already acquired laurels 
in the field, which were to be increased or withered by the con- 
flict. Harrison had neither y«??^^73/ nox possessions on the fron- 
tier. He had no laurels to guard. Did he seek ivealth? The 
wilderness has seldom offered it to the soldier. Fame ? A 
juvenile subaltern's portion is small indeed, and held by a pre- 
carious tenure. Ease ? The home and friends he had left 
were a paradise to the camp of Auglaise. Safety? It has 
never been found beneath the reeking tomahawk and scalping 
knife of a merciless foe. For him at least, the war was one 
against hope : a bosom fired with less patriotism had never en- 
tered it. The spirit which impelled him to this sacrifice on the 
altar of his country's good, will be found to pervade his whole 



GENERAL HARRISON. 9 

Hfe. He has never been betrayed into selfishness or seduced 
into weakness. 

The crisis to which we have alluded, was one worthy the 
sagacity of the great Father of his Country. In his choice 
of a commander whose genius could master these difficulties, 
he balanced, for a while, between George Rogers Clarke -mid 
the renowned Anthony Wayne; and, at length, decided to 
appoint the latter. Early in the year 1792, General Wayne 
arrived at the seat of war and assumed the command. The 
United States Legion, as Wayne's army was called under the 
new organization after St. Clair's defeat, was at this time alike 
destitute of confidence in themselves, skill in the use of their 
weapons, and knowledge of their foe. He revived their con- 
fidence, drilled them in rifle shooting, and instructed them in 
the artifices of the enemy. About this time Harrison was pro- 
moted by General Washington, to a lieutenancy, and shortly 
after joined Wayne's Legion. His fearlessness and energy, 
with his strict attention to discipline, soon attracted the notice 
of his commander, himself a bold and daring soldier and a 
rigid disciplinarian, and General Wayne, not long after his 
arrival, selected him as one of his aides-de-camp. It is thus 
seen at how early an age, and in what trying scenes, young 
Harrison was thought worthy of honourable distinction, and 
how soon too he drew upon himself the attention and especial 
notice of a man and a soldier like Wayne, whose well known 
independence of character was such, that no influence save 
that of intrinsic merit was ever known to prevail with him, 
and whose daring, and almost reckless intrepidity, had won for 
him in our Revolutionary war, the peculiar appellation of "Mad 
Anthony." At one period, during the darkest hour of the 
Revolution, he proposed to General Washington that a limited 
number of men be selected from the British and American ar- 
mies — that the command of the Americans should be given to 
him, and let the contest between the two nations be thus decided. 
Though Washington had the greatest admiration for his bold- 
ness and military skill, and Wayne expressed the utmost con- 
fidence in the result — and no doubt would have gained an easy 
victory — the Father of his Country regarded the hazard too 
2 



10 THE LIFE OF 

great to submit the vast interests of America to a pitched battle 
or single contest. 

Lieutenant Harrison acted as aid to General Wayne, during 
the whole of the ensuing campaigns, and his bravery and gal- 
lant conduct throughout were such, that he w^as repeatedly 
officially noticed by his commander in terms of the highest 
encomium. 

The war was conducted by Wayne, with all the cool daring 
of a veteran soldier, and the sagacity of a prudent general. 
Negotiations with the Indians failing, he had recourse to mili- 
tary operations; and, on the 23d of December, a small de- 
tachment of infantry and artillery were ordered to re-possess 
themselves of the field of battle of the 4th of November, 
1791, the scene of St. Clair's defeat. After a sharp conflict it 
was done ; and in a general order, issued after the battle, the 
gallant Wayne, publicly tendered his thanks to Lieu- 
tenant Harrison, for the Courage and Good Conduct ma- 
nifested by him during the contest.* If any thing could inflame 
the passions of a young soldier, it must be such a notice, by 
such an officer, as the patriotic and chivalrous Wayne. 

This action, in which Harrison bore so distinguished a part, 
turned the tide of war against the foe. In the July following, 
Wayne moved into the heart of the Indian country, and took 
up a position at Grand Glaise. The Little Turtle here urged 
his red brethren to accept the terms offered by General Wayne. 
They however rejected them, and the two armies immediately 
encountered each other in battle, on the 20th of August, 1794, at 
the Maumee Rapids. A bloody and desperate conflict ensued. 
Harrison was by turns in every part of the field ; and such 
was his bravery, that the commander, in his general orders, a 
second time thanked his " faithful and gallant Aid-de- 
camp, Lieutenant Harrison, for having rendered the 

MOST essential SERVICE, BY COMMUNICATING HIS ORDERS IN 
every DIRECTION, AND BY HIS CONDUCT AND BRAVERY ENCOU- 
RAGING THE TROOPS TO PRESS FOR VICTORY." Had nOt his 

whole career — a career marked with uniform success, and 

* Hall's Memoir, page 87. 



GENERAL HARRISON. 11 

abounding in instances of unexampled heroism — attested the 
energy and dauntless intrepidity of Harrison's character, such 
testimony would, of itself, be conclusive. 

Thus do we find Harrison, a second time the theme of 
eulogy with a commander who rarely praised at all, and never 
but when it was deserved. He had hardly arrived at the age 
of twenty-one years ; but whilst yet a boy he had performed 
deeds of daring, and earned, with his sword, a distinction which 
few attain throughout a long life. By the sequel it will be 
found that the laurels thus acquired, were never suffered to 
fade. 

The fruit of this victory, so decisive in its character, was the 
conckision of a treaty of peace with all the hostile Indians, on 
the 1st of January, 1795, at Greenville, on such terms as our 
victorious commander dictated. Harrison took an active part, 
under the direction of Wayne, in the formation of this important 
treaty. The savages had learned the power of our government 
to punish; they had also been taught the inability of Great 
Britain to protect them. 

On the conclusion of this treaty, Harrison, now promoted to 
the rank of Captain, by the sagacious Wayne, was intrusted 
with the command of Fort Washington — a station of more 
consequence than any other on the western frontier — and the 
management of the public property, chiefly collected at that 
post, in charge of which he continued until the death of Gene- 
ral Wayne.* 

• Hall's Memoir, page 54. 



13 THE LIFE OF 



CHAPTER 11. 

Marriage of Harrison — Anecdote — Resigns his Commission — Is appointed by Wasli- 
ington Secretary of the Northwestern Territory — His well earned popularity — Is 
elected Delegate to Congress at the early age of twenty-five — His patriotic course 
in dividing the public Lands — Important results of that measure — Gratitude of the 
West — The People apply for his appointment as Governor of the Piorthwestern 
Territory — He declines from patriotic motives — Is appointed Governor of Indiana — 
Unbounded power of the office — Unexceptionably exercised by Harrison — Illus- 
tration of his republican purity — Treaties with the Indians — Tecumseh and the 
Prophet — Council at Vincennes — Notice of Tecumseh — Decision and gallantry 
of Harrison. 

While in command of Fort Washington, which occupied 
the present site of the city of Cincinnati, Captain Harrison 
married the daughter of John Cleves Symmes, the celebrated 
founder of the Miami settlements — a lady whose estimable 
social and domestic virtues llave endeared her to a large circle 
of friends. An anecdote is related of his marriage, which illus- 
trates the admirable self-reliance that has ever characterized 
Harrison, and the entire absence of the advantages of fortune 
with which he entered the busy scenes of life. On applying to 
Mr. Symmes for his consent to the marriage of his daughter, 
Harrison wa;s asked what were his resources for maintaining*a 
wife. Placing his hand upon his sword, he replied, " This, sir, 
is my means of support !" It is hardly necessary to add, that 
Mr. Symmes was so much delighted with the daring chivalry 
and undaunted confidence of the young soldier, as at once to 
yield him an unqualified assent to his proposal of marriage. 

Anthony Wayne died in the year 1797. Immediately after 
this event, there being no prospect of further hostilities, Captain 
Harrison left the army and retired to his farm. In this step he 
exhibited the same regard for the best interest of his country, 
which has ever distinguished the career of this great and good 
man. He had encountered her enemies and had subdued them; 
and although his services, acknowledged and applauded by ali, 
gave him the strongest claim on her for support, and fully justi- 
fied his retaining a situation under her, equal to his mainte 



GENERAL HARRISON. 13 

nance, yet he refused to occupy that station one hour after it 
had become a sinecure. He was unwilling to be paid 

WHEN HE RENDERED NO SERVICE, OR NOT AN ADEQUATE ONE. 

As a reward for his fidehty, the immortal Washington 

APPOINTED him SECRETARY OF THE NORTHWESTERN TERRI- 
TORY, and ex officio Lieutenant Governor. Let it be borne 
in mind, that at this period he was only twenty-four years old. 
Yet, at this early age, his merit, and merit alone, secured 
him a place in the confidence of that wise and virtuous man, 
which at this day thousands would regard as an ample recom- 
pense for a life of labour. Washington, the wise and revered 
Washington,* made the appointment. If any are disposed to 
doubt the propriety of conferring this high honour upon one so 
young, they must first call in question the soundness of judg- 
ment, or purity of heart, of the Father of his Country. Har- 
rison possessed the merit to attract the attention of Washington, 
and Washington had the discernment to perceive, and the justice 
to reward it. % 

In this situation, Harrison mingled with the people in all the 
varied tasks, toils, and amusements which characterize frontier 
life. In their company he wielded the axe; with them he held 
the stilts of the plough, or scattered the seed over the bosom of 
the virgin soil ; with them he shouldered his ritie to expel the 
howling panther, or to guard them against the subtle Indian. 
The farmer, the trader, and the hunter, were his companions. 
In the school of experience he learned their wants; in the same 
school they had been taught to look to him for relief. His 
political economy was drawn from the book of nature itself. 

In this way he became the favourite of the people ; and in 
.the ensuing year, when the Territory was admitted to send a 
delegate to Congress, he was the first man to fill that office, 
though only twenty-five years old.t He had just arrived at 
that age v/hen, by the Constitution, he was able to hold a seat 
in that body. He was, without doubt, the youngest man in 
Congress; yet we shall shortly see him grappling v/ith the 
most experienced and able, with signal credit and eminent 
success. 



* Hall's Memoirs, p. 56. f Ibid. p. 58. 

B 



14 THELIFEOF 

The domestic condition of the settlers of the West was 
peculiarly distressing, owing to the abuses which had crept 
into the mode of disposing of the public lands. 

These abuses were twofold : First, the disposal of land in 
tracts of not less than four thousand acres ; and secondly, the 
granting of large tracts of the best land to individuals or com- 
panies. 

The effect of these measures was to exclude the needy 
settlers from the benefits offered by the sale of land. In gene- 
ral, they were poor and unable to buy such quantities. The 
wealthy speculator had it in his power to demand for them 
what price he chose. There was left to the settler no alterna- 
tive but compliance with these hard conditions, or to become 
an impoverished tenant of some lordly landholder. Thus, those 
who had conquered the forest, and subdued the savage, who 
had purchased the soil with their blood, and witnessed its fer- 
tilization by the bodies of their compatriots, friends, or relations, 
as a reward for their sacrifices and sufferings, were delivered to 
the TENDER MERCIES of a lieartlcss speculator, whose only supe- 
riority was the possession of wealth which he was either unable 
or unwilling to defend. 

Shortly after taking his seat at the session of the sixth Con- 
gress, in December, 1799, Captain Harrison directed his 
attention to this subject. He moved "for the appointment of 
a committee to inquire into the existing mode of selling the 
public lands," and was himself placed at the head of that com- 
mittee. In due time, he introduced a bill regulating the sale 
of the public domain. By this bill, the size of the tracts was 
reduced to sections of six hundred and forty acres,.and these 
were subdivided into half and quarter sections. To speak of 
the influence of this measure on the interests of the people of 
the West, and on those of the government, would be superfluous. 

The FARMER, instead of being the tenant of a wealthy land- 
lord, toiling for his benefit and liable to be dispossessed at his 
pleasure, became the independent owner of the soil, and trans- 
mitted it to his offspring. Emigrants poured into the West; 
the population expanded; the forest gave place to smiling, cul- 
tivated fields ; and the great valley of the Mississippi, instead 
of being the haunt of the savage, has (thanks to Harrison !) 



GENERAL HARRISON. 15 

become the abode of millions of intelligent men, prosperotjs, 
HAPPY, FREE AND INDEPENDENT. The government has sold 
land to the amount of millions, which, under the old system, 
would have cost it millions to defend. The debts of the nation 
are paid ; her treasury has been overflowing ; and, by a recent 
act of Congress — the benefits of which have been precluded for 
a time by gross mismanagement — every State in the Union 
may reap the advantages of this wise foresight of Wil- 
liam Henry Harrison. 

It may appear strange, that such a measure should have 
been opposed. It was however opposed by the eloquent Lee, 
of Virginia, who brought to any cause he espoused, as great 
a weight of character, as great a fund of knowledge, and as 
brilliant talents as any man who held a seat in Congress. 
Harrison, however, by his eloquence, and practical knowledge 
of the wants of the people, bore down all opposition. 

At that session of Congress, some of the ablest and most enlight- 
ened statesmen, and some of the most eloquent men our country 
has ever produced, were members. Yet in this severe ordeal, 
the abilities and irrepressible energies of Captain Harrison com- 
manded universal respect. His report on the subject of the public 
lands, has always been regarded as one of the most masterly 
productions ever presented by any pen to the attention of Con- 
gress. But not with his pen only, did he enforce the claims and 
rights of the poor emigrants. His eloquent voice was raised on 
repeated occasions, and with great effect, in their vindication. 
He united to a ready and fluent elocution, an earnestness and 
honesty of manner, and great familiarity with all the details of 
his subject, which rendered him one of the most powerful and 
invincible orators on the floor of Congress. 

The justice and true policy of this measure, for reducing the 
size of the tracts of public lands offered for sale, having been 
at last universally admitted, subsequent legislators have found 
it not only an expedient but a most popular measure, and have 
followed up the principle of Harrison's bill. Our public lands 
may now be bought in tracts of but eighty acres each, and at 
a price of only one dollar and twenty-five cents per acre ; 
whereas, but for the destruction of the old system, accomplished 
by Harrison, and but for the wise and just principle, first intro- 



16 THELIFEOF 

duced by him, that aristocratic and monopolizing system might 
still have continued. In that case the well known limited 
means of the early settlers, and consequently the entire absence 
of those inducements to emigrate, which are indispensable to 
the peopling of a new and uncultivated region of country, 
justify the belief that the great valley of the Mississippi, the 
mighty empire of the West, would not at this day have num- 
bered one half the population, nor boasted a moiety of the great 
wealth of cultivated fields, prosperous towns and permanent 
and substantial improvements, which it now contains. 

The success of Harrison was viewed with enthusiasm in the 
West. The people immediately petitioned for his appointment as 
Governor or the North Western Territory. To this, how- 
ever, Harrison himself offered the only objection. He refused 
to accept the office out of respect to the aged St. Clair, who still 
held it. A nobler instance of disinterestedness has rarely been 
recorded. Harrison is not the man to deprive a veteran sol- 
dier of his laurels. He could not j)luck one leaf from the 
wreath that adorned St. Clair'' s broiv to place it on his own I 
In the year 1800, the North Western Territory was divided. 
That part of it included within the present boundaries of Ohio and 
Michigan, retained its former name ; and the immense extent 
of country north-west of this, was erected into a separate 
government and received the name of Indiana. The office of 
Governor was instantly conferred on Harrison,* a merited 
tribute to his great worth and talents, and as some slight re- 
compense for the services he had rendered the territory in the 
field and on the floor of Congress. 

We have now traced his career from the hour, when he en- 
tered into the service of his country under Washington, up to 
the time of his appointment as Governor of Indiana. It will 
be our duty to present the reader with a delineation equally 
rapid of his conduct and services in this capacity. 

We have hitherto found him vigilant and brave in the field ; 



* " I nominate William Henry Harrison to be Governor of the Indiana Territory, 
from the 13th day of May next, when his present commission as Governor will ex- 
pire. Signed, Tuomas Jefferson." 

Executive Journal of the United States Senate, page 441. 



GENERAL HARRISON. 17 

faithful and wise in council : still the querulous may say, that 
in the former, he acted under the orders of his superiors ; that 
in the latter, his course might have been controlled by his 
associates. 

As Governor of Indiana, his situation was perfectly inde- 
pendent. While he held it, he was invested with immense 
powers — greater perhaps than had ever before been intrusted 
in the hands of one man under our government, excepting only 
Washington during the Revolutionary war. In the exercise 
of most of these powers, he was, in fact, responsible only to 
God and his conscience. We will briefly state what these 
powers were, and how they were exercised. 

The territory thus committed to his charge, embraced the 
immense and fertile region of country known as Indiana Ter- 
ritory. It included what now constitute the great states of In- 
diana, Illinois, and Michigan, and the territories of Wisconsin 
and Iowa. But the small population it then contained was 
thinly scattered through a vast wilderness, and only three white 
settlements of any note existed within its boundaries. One of 
these was at the seat of government, Vincennes, a small town 
originally built by the French, and beautifully and advantage- 
ously situated on the banks of the Wabash; the second, known 
as Clark's Grant, was at the Falls of the Ohio, nearly opposite 
Louisville, about one hundred miles from Vincennes ; and the 
third was the French settlement on the banks of the Mississippi, 
near St. Louis, and more than two hundred miles distant from 
the seat of government. The communication between these 
remote points was, at all times, difficult and toilsome, and often 
attended with great danger. There existed no practicable 
roads, and nearly all the intermediate country was occupied by 
the Indians, or over-run by their hunting-parties. Most of 
these savage tribes, though professing to be friendly, were rest- 
less and dissatisfied; and their leading chiefs still nursed a 
moody hope of revenge for the mortifying defeat they had sus- 
tained, six years before, at the battle of the Maumee Rapids, 
in which Harrison had acted so conspicuous a part. Artful 
and treacherous, numerous, warlike and thirsting for plunder, 
they kept this remote frontier in continual excitement and 
alarm. The angry feelings of our hardy borderers were fre- 
3 b2 



18 THE LIFE OF 

quently roused by some robbery or atrocious aggression, com- 
mitted by the more evil-disposed among their savage neighbours, 
and quarrels often ensued, which threatened the peace of the 
entire community. Whole families were sometimes murdered 
in their sleep, and their humble cabins burnt to the ground ! 

Such was the existing state of things in Indiana Territory, 
when Captain Harrison was appointed to the administration 
of its government. As governor of a frontier territory so pecu- 
liarly situated, and beset by so many perils, he was invested 
with civil powers of the most important nature, as well as with 
military authority. 

He was invested, in company with the Judges, with full 
legislative powers. 

He had the appointment of all civil officers within the Terri- 
tory, and all military officers inferior to a General. 

He was Commander-in-chief of the Militia. 

He possessed the absolute and uncontrolled power of pardon- 
ing all offences. 

He was ex officio Superintendent of Indian affairs, and was 
appointed by the wise and virtuous Thomas Jeffekson, 
sole Commissioner of treaties with the Indians, with un- 
limited poxoers.'* He had the power of confirming, at his 
option, the titles of all grants of land. In fact, his signature 
constituted a title to the lands of the Territory, without revision 
or inquiry from any quarter whatever. 

These are the powers with which he was invested — powers 
which are not surpassed, if equalled, by those confided to any 
other individual, since the organization of our government, 
Washington alone excepted. 

Let us inquire how they were exercised. 



* "1 



' I nominate William Henry Harrison, of Indiana, to be a Commissioner to enter 
into ANY treaty or treaties which may be necessary, with any Indian tribes, north- 
west of the Ohio, and within the territory of the United States, on the subject of the 

boundary, or lands. ^ , „ 

"Signed, Thomas Jefferson. 

The message containing these nominations was transmitted to the Senate of the 
United States, on the 3d day of February, 1803, read on the 4th, and on the 8th 
taken up for consideration, when the nomination of William Henry Harrison, above 
recited, received the unanimous sanction of that honourable body. 



GENERAL HARRISON. 19 

They remained in his hands for thirteen years; during which 
time he administered the affairs of the Territory with so much 
wisdom, justice and disinterestedness, that a vigilant and Iceen- 
sighted political opposition has been unable to point out a single 
act of wrong or abuse, of any kind whatever. 

The power of granting titles to land was one peculiarly 
liable to abuse. A dexterous, selfish man, would have con- 
verted it into the instrument of amassing thousands, perhaps 
millions, for himself and his family, and then defied, as he could 
have done, all inquiry. Harrison, on the contrary, was as 
poor on the day he left the Territory as he was when he entered 
it. As a disciple of the school of Jefferson, he could not, like 
some who claim popular favour, make his public situation sub- 
serve the purpose of private gain ; as an officer, he could not 
prostitute his power ; as a patriot, he could not sacrifice his 
country's good on the altar of an unhallowed cupidity. At the 
time of our writing, he is eating the bread of honest industry, 
on the banks of the Ohio, with no solace save that of a heart 
strong and cheerful in the consciousness of unyielding in- 
tegrity. Had he been avaricious or ambitious, he also might 
have ridden in his coach and four, covering with the dust of the 
highway, and spattering with the slaver of his steeds, his less 
fortunate democratic brethren. He also' might have purchased, 
from the corrupt, with gold, those plaudits which the dema- 
gogue cannot wring from the admiration of the honest. He 
also might have bowed or knelt in a foreign court, among 
kings and dukes — been greeted by lords, and smiled on by 
ladies. But no ! he preferred simple fare and laborious em- 
ployment to wealth, rank and power, when purchased at the 
sacrifice of his honour. So rigid has been his honesty, that he 
has always refused to avail himself of his intimate knowledge 
of the country to speculate fn lands ; and to his honour be it 
said, he has never owned an acre of land the title of which 
could be traced to himself as Governor of Indiana. As Com- 
missioner of treaties, he effected thirteen of the most import- 
ant treaties ever made. By them upwards of sixty millions 
OF ACRES of the finest land ever owned by the United States, 
were ceded to the government, and the aboriginal title finally 
extinguished. They are now worth at least ONE HUNDRED 



20 THE LIFE OF 

MILLIONS OF DOLLARS TO THE GOVERNMENT, 
and, in the hands of farmers, at least TWENTY TIMES 
THAT SUM. These acres are far more valuable than bars 
of gold or j&hhy rags! 

By one of these treaties with the Sacs and Foxes, he ob- 
tained the cession of the whole of that extensive and valuable 
region lying between the river Illinois and the Mississippi, 
with a northern boundary, stretching from the head of Fox 
river, to a point on the Wisconsin, thirty-six miles above its 
mouth, .^nd ivho has done more than this? There lives not 
one who has effected a tenth part as much for his country ! 
The wisest regulations of commerce, ever effected by one man, 
in point of national benefit, cannot be compared to these acts 
of William Henry Harrison. Through his wisdom and 
prudence, the West was settled. He drew around our frontier 
a chain of hardy, intelligent, brave and enterprising spirits, 
which afforded a better security against the incursions of the 
savage, than would the famed iron defence of Louis XIV. 

His speeches and messages, as Governor, whilst they display 
his wisdom and forecast, furnish the most finished and brilliant 
specimens of eloquence and composition. If collected with his 
other productions, they would fill several volumes. 

In their frequent intercourse with Governor Harrison, the 
Indians had learned to respect his undaunted firmness, and 
were, at the same time, conciliated by his kindness of manner 
and considerate forbearance. This, with his intimate knowledge 
of the Indian character, is the true secret of the remarkable 
success that has uniformly attended every treaty he has at- 
tempted to negotiate. 

The various and arduous duties of the Governor of Indiana, 
required for this office, a man of very superior abilities and 
qualifications, and of a rare tem^Derament ; one possessed of 
stern integrity and prudent moderation, with wisdom in the 
exercise of the extensive powers intrusted to him, accompanied 
by the most unwavering firmness. Such a man Governor 
Harrison, in the long course of his administration, fully proved 
himself to be. The plainest evidence that can be presented to 
those who are not familiar with the history of Indiana, during 
this eventful period, of the peculiar fitness of Governor Har 



GENERAL HARRISON. 21 

rison for this important station, of the confidence reposed in 
him, and of the great popularity he attained while in the ex- 
ercise of so delicate a trust, is the unquestionable fact, that, for 
thirteen years, at every successive expiration of his term of 
office, he was re-appointed at the earnest solicitation of the 
people of the Territory, and with the public expression of the 
most flattering approbation on the part of our chief Executive. 
And this too, notwithstanding the changes which had taken 
place within that time, in the administration of the government. 
He was twice appointed by the immortal Jefferson, " the father 
of Democracy," and the author of the glorious Declaration of 
Independence, and again by Mr. Madison, the " champion of 
the Constitution." 

The following extract from a resolution, mianimously passed 
by the House of Representatives of Indiana, in the year 1809, 
requesting the re-appointment of Governor Harrison, will show 
the estimate which a long acquaintance had taught them of 
his worth : — 

" They (the House of Representatives) cannot forbear recommending to, and re- 
questing of, the President and Senate, most earnestly in their own names, and in the 
names of their constituents, the re-appointment of their present governor, William 
Henry Harrison, — because he possesses the good wishes and affection of a great 
majority of his fellow citizens, — because they believe him sincerely attached to the 
Union, the prosperity of the United States, and the administration of its govern- 
ment, — because they believe him, in a superior degree, capable of promoting the 
interest of our territory, from long experience and laborious attention to its concerns, 
from his influence over the Indians, and wise and disinterested management of that 
department; and because they have confidence in his virtues, talents, and he- 

PUBLICANISM." 

One of the leading objects in the view of Harrison, whilst 
Governor, was the conciliation of the Aborigines. Jealousies 
and heart-burnings had grown out of the intercourse between 
the two races, differing as they did in every important charac- 
teristic and quality. The complaints of the Indians were con- 
stantly recurring. If the traders supplied them with rum, they 
furnished the means of destruction. If they withheld it, it 
was denounced as an arbitrary act, at once unjust and oppres- 
sive. The traders were denounced as cheats and liars ; and 
the ministers of the Gospel of Peace, as invaders of their heredi- 
tary customs. This state of irritation continued until the year 



22 THELIFEOF 

1806, and as the transactions of this period led to the war of 
181 1, it may be proper to give a very brief account of them. 

The plan of uniting the savage tribes, along the whole fron- 
tier, against the whites, had been repeatedly tried previous to 
this, but had always been defeated by the wisdom of Harrison. 
Tecumseh and the Prophet, who were brothers, and chiefs of 
the Shawanoese tribe, renewed the attempt with a better pros- 
pect of success. Tecumseh was a savage of the first order of 
abilities. He was as wary and sagacious in council, as he was 
bold and impetuous in the execution of his designs — ^and to 
this was added a capacity for command of a very superior 
order. As an orator, he was fluent in expression, subtle in al- 
lusion, and acute in reasoning. He was accurately informed 
of the grievances and complaints of every tribe, familiar with 
all their passions and sympathies, and he used them with the 
utmost skill to subserve his ends. 

The Prophet was remarkable for nothing but a low cunning, 
which sometimes distinguishes the savage character. He was 
not renowned in arms, nor had he accomplished any feats as a 
hunter. His name would have passed into oblivion, but for 
the lofty and daring character of his brother. Tecumseh found 
it necessary to enlist the superstition of the tribes in the pro- 
motion of his purpose. With this view, he affected to treat 
his brother as a being of a superior order, and by this artifice^ 
succeeded completely in deceiving them. 

Tecumseh advised the tribes to abstain from using the sup- 
plies furnished by the United States. This led to illicit trading 
accompanied by fraud, cheating, violence, and sometimes mur- 
der. Hostile incursions, on the part of the Indians, at length 
became frequent. Things remained in this state until the 
year 1811. 

In September, 1809, Harrison concluded a treaty with the 
Delawares, Miamies, and Patawatamies, for the cession of a 
large tract of land on the Wabash. Tecumseh was absent 
Avhen this treaty was ratified, and on his return refused to ac- 
knowledge it, alleging that the ceded land belonged to the 
Shawanoese. He threatened to kill the chiefs who had signed 
it, and declared his determination to prevent the lands from 
being surveyed and settled. 



GENERAL HARRISON. 23 

Governor Harrison, on being apprised of his proceedings, 
sent him a message, informing him " that any claims he might 
have to the lands which had been ceded, were not affected by 
the treaty ; that he might come to Vincennes and exhibit his 
pretensions, and if they were fomid to be valid, that the land 
would either be relinquished, or an ample compensation 
made for it."* Accordingly, in the month of August, 1810, he 
came down to Vincennes, attended by several hundred war- 
riors, although Harrison, having no confidence in the savage- 
had restricted the number to thirty. The meeting took place 
in front of the Governor's house, on a day appointed to hear 
the statement of Tecumseh, which it took him many hours 
to make. He alleged that the Great Spirit had made this con- 
tinent for the use of the Indians exclusively; that the white 
people had no right to come here and take it from them ; that 
no particular part of it was given to any tribe, but that the 
whole was the common property of all ; and that any sale of 
lands made without the consent of all, was not valid. In his 
reply, the Governor observed, that the Indians, like the white 
people, were divided into different tribes or nations, and that 
the Great Spirit never intended that they should form but one 
nation, or he would not have taught them to speak different 
languages, which precluded them from understanding each 
other ; and that the Shawanoees, who emigrated from Georgia, 
could have no claims to the lands on the Wabash, which had 
been occupied far beyond the memory of man by the Miamies. 
The Governor having proceeded thus far, sat down for the 
purpose of giving the interpreters time to explain what he had 
said, to the different tribes that were present. As soon as it 
was interpreted in Shawanoese, Tecumseh interrupted the 
interpreter, and said that it was " all false ;" and giving a sig- 
nal to his warriors, they seized their knives, tomahawks and 
war-clubs and sprang upon their feet. 

For some minutes the Governor was in the most imminent 
danger. He, however, preserved that presence of mind for 
which he has ever been so much distinguished, and disengaging 
himself from an arm-chair in which he was seated, drew hi,s 

* See McAfee's History of the' Late War, p. 12, from which these facts are 
obtained. 



24 THELIFEOF 

sword and met the grim savages with an undaunted front. The 
friendly chief Winnemack, cocked a pistol which he held in his 
hand. A considerable number of the citizens of Vincennes were 
present, all unarmed. Close at hand, however, there was a guard, 
composed of a sergeant and twelve men, Avho were immediately 
brought up by an officer. The savages quailed beneath the 
prompt and steady valour of Harrison. Tecumseh had ex- 
pected an easy victim ; but he found the Governor, although 
surrounded and surprised, as immovable as the earth on which 
he stood — equally incapable of rash violence or cowering fear. 
The moral influence of Harrison's position, and his unblenching 
front, subdued this wild son of the woods. He told Tecumseh 
that he was a bad man, and he would have no further inter- 
course with him ; and directed him to retire to his camp, and 
set out immediately on his return home. 

As the Indians with Tecumseh greatly outnumbered the 
citizens of the town and the regular troops there, two compa- 
nies of militia were brought in during the night, and a large 
number the next day. Early, however, on the following morn- 
ing, Tecumseh sent for the interpreter, apologised for his trea- 
chery, and earnestly requested that he might have another 
conference with the Governor. His request was at length 
granted; but the Governor took care to be attended by a num- 
ber of his friends, well armed, and to have the troops in the 
town ready for action. In his speech on this occasion, Tecum- 
seh said that he had been advised by some white persons to act 
as he had done at the former interview; but that it was not 
his intention to offer any violence to the Governor. Harrison 
then inquired whether he had any other grounds for claiming 
the lands. He answered that he had not. Governor Har- 
rison then remarked to him, that so great a warrior should 
disdain to conceal his intentions; and desired to know whether 
he really designed to wage a war against the United States, if 
the lately purchased lands were not relinquished by them. He 
answered, that it was decidedly his determination, and that he 
would never bury the hatchet or intermit his labours, until he 
united all the tribes upon the continent into one grand confede- 
racy, and the pale faces were compelled to yield to his de- 
mands. The council here ended, and Tecumseh withdrew. 



GENERAL HARRISON. 25 



CHAPTER HI. 

Combination of Hostile Indians on the Western Frontier— Insidious policy of 
Great Britain — Approach of war, and opposition to it — Harrison prepares for the 
contest — Embodies a force and marches into the Indian Territory-J-Reaches the 
Prophet's town — Treachery of the Prophet — Anecdote of General Harrison — 
Battle of Tippecanoe — Heroism of Harrison in the Battle — Testimonials of 
popular gratitude— Testimony of the illustrious Madison, &c. — Eflects of the 
victory of Tippecanoe — Difficulties between England and the United States. 

Immediatelv after the council of Vincennes, the sagacious 
and blood-thirsty Tecumseh entered vigorously on the fulfil- 
ment of his menace made to Governor Harrison. It was his 
intention to avoid all hostilities with the whites, until he should 
effect a combination strong enough to resist them, or until the 
expected war with Great Britain should commence.* For this 
purpose he visited all the Northern and Southern tribes. His 
purpose was thwarted, however, by the watchful and gallant 
Harrison. 

In the year IS II, it became obvious that the cloud of war 
which had so long darkened our Western frontier, must shortly 
burst, and pour its contents of fury and desolation upon the 
unprotected settlers. 

The insidious enmity of the Indians, which had been kept 
alive and nourished so long by the sinister policy of England, 
began \o assume a bolder aspect. Their murmurs were 
changed into threats, their complaints to vows of vengeful re- 
tribution. Great Britain also had strengthened the posts which 
she had retained in her possession, contrary to all good faith, 
and had placed Canada in a state of defence. Her outrages 
upon our commerce had become such as a brave nation could 
no longer palliate or excuse. The patience of the American 
people became at length exhausted ; and throughout, her wide 
domain, the Democracy of the land demanded a vindication 
of their rights. The prospect of war was viewed with enthu- 
siasm in the West. 

* McAfee's History of the Late War, p. 15. 

4 C 



26 THELIFEOF 

Opposed to the Democracy or the country, were a few 
discontented and restless spirits, who did every thing to weaken 
and cripple the administration of Mr. Madison, that a stub- 
born enforcement of their fallacious objections to a redress of 
our National Wrongs, could accomplish. They stigmatised 
such men as JEFFERSON, MADISON, HARRISON, and 
JACKSON, as paid emissaries of Napoleon — sought to excite 
popular prejudice against them — to create a sympathy in be- 
half of England, whom they styled our "kind mother" and the 
"bulwark of our religion," and to precipitate the nation into a 
war with France, our ancient ally, who had come to our aid in 
the dreariest hour of the Revolution. And when our country, 
roused by a sense of accumulated wrongs and injuries, became 
engaged in the second war of independence, struggling for her 
honour and her rights with a powerful foe, Martin Van Buren 
was found associated with those who endeavoured to distract 
and divide the democratic parly, by introducing De Wilt Clin- 
ton as a candidate for the Presidency, in opposition to the 
patriotic Madison. ' 

But all these efforts proved unavailing. The People, lashed 
into phrensy at the accumulated outrages of Britain, demanded 
of their Representatives an immediate commencement of 
hostilities. 

Governor Harrison, always foremost in the hour of his 
country's danger, applied to President Madison for authority 
to prepare the Frontier for the approaching contest, stating to 
him the efforts of Tecumseh who was leagued with the British, 
and what would be the disastrous consequences if his design 
was permitted to be matured. An armed force was instantly 
furnished him from Ohio, Kentucky, and Indiana, but he was 
ordered " to abstain from hostilities, of any kind whatever, and 
to any degree not indispensably required^ 

A more disadvantageous and trying position than that which 
Harrison occupied, cannot well be conceived. Before him, was 
arranged his enemy in open preparation for battle; behind him, 
lay a defenceless population, from which all the able-bodied 
men had been drafted, or had volunteered to form the army : 
on the right and left, stretched the forest, which it was impos- 
sible to guard, and through which the foe could, at any mo- 



GENERAL HARRISON. 27 

ment, fall back upon the unprotected settlers in the rear, and 
carry the torch and knife to the home and throats of every 
family. General Harrison had not the authority to attack. Until 
blood had stained the tomahawk, or the victim had writhed 
beneath the torture, he could not even unsheath his sword. 
Every advantage was conferred upon the enemy. In the defile 
of the mountain, on the plain, by night or by day, in detach- 
ments, or en masse, he might come on, when, where, and as 
he chose. But a brief period elapsed before the grossest out- 
rages upon the settlers, afforded abundant cause to strike. 

The genius of Harrison — " the man who never lost a 
BATTLE," who has never yielded to his country's foes, was equal 
to this crisis ; and by a master stroke of policy, he conquered 
every disadvantage, and moved down with an army of eight 
hundred men, upon the Prophet's town, where all the hostile 
Indians were assembled, and before Tecumseh had returned 
from his visit to the Southern Tribes. 

As soon as it was known in Kentucky, that Harrison was 
authorized to march with an army against the Indians, a num- 
ber of volunteers were eager to join his standard. Many of 
them were men of high standing at home, as military, civil and 
literary characters. Of tIi|B number were Samuel Wells, a Major 
General in former Indian wars ; Joseph H. Davies, an eminent 
lawyer of great military ambition ; Col. Owen, a veteran in 
the Indian war. Colonel Keiger and Messrs. Croghan, O'Fallon, 
Thipp, Chum and Edwards, who afterwards distinguished 
themselves as officers of the army of the United States. 

In the latter part of September, 1811, Governor Harrison 
commenced his march up the Wabash, with a force of about 
eight hundred efficient men. The militia, who were all volun- 
teers, had been trained with great assiduity and labour by the 
Governor in person. Conformably to his orders from the Pre- 
sident, he halted within the boundary of the United States, and 
endeavoured, by the intervention of the Delaware and Miami 
tribes, to induce the Prophet, Tecumseh's brother, to deliver up 
the murderers, and the many horses which had been stolen 
from the white settlers. These messengers of peace were 
received and treated with great insolence by the Prophet and 
his council, and their demands rejected with disdain. To put 



28 THELIFEOF 

an end to all hopes of accommodation, a small war party was 
detached by the Prophet, for the purpose of commencing hos- 
tilities. This party fired upon the American sentinels, and 
wounded one of them severely. The Delaware chiefs informed 
the Governor that it was in vain to expect that any thing but 
force could obtain satisfaction for injuries committed, or secu- 
rity for the future. He learned also from the same source, that 
the strength of the Prophet was daily increasing by accessions 
of the ardent and giddy young men from every tribe. 

So soon, therefore, as his little army had recovered from their 
sickness, occasioned by the exclusive use of fresh food, without 
vegetables and a sufficient quantity of bread, Harrison deter- 
mined to proceed on to the Prophet's town. And here it is 
no more than justice that an incident should be related illus- 
trative of the generous conduct of Governor Harrison, which 
endeared him so much to his troops, and rendered him the 
most popular commander ever engaged in the American service. 
Finding that his flour was inadequate to supply the army for 
any considerable period, he was compelled, in the early part of 
October, to put them on a half-allowance of that article. While 
the soldier in the line, however, was subjected to this privation, 
the Governor's table was not foundl supplied with luxuries. 
He required all the ofiicers rigidly to conform to the same regu- 
lation, and he was Imnself the first to adopt it. 

The Indians being perfect masters of ambuscading, every 
precaution was necessary during the progress of the army, to 
guard against surprise, and to prevent them from being attacked 
in a disadvantageous position. Our limits forbid us to accom- 
pany him on his dreary march through the wilderness, or to 
recount the many perils and adventures of the route. Com- 
pelled to ford streams, swollen by heavy rains, and in some 
instances filled with floating ice, and this too, on foot — for fre- 
quently did the Governor relinquish his horse to the sick or 
infirm soldier — to lie at night on the snow-covered earth, with 
his clothes and accoutrements on, or sit with his back against a 
tree, sleeping, with the reins of his horse clenched in his hand, 
momentarily expecting an attack; — these form but an imperfect 
sketch of the toils and privations to which the chivalrous Har- 
rison and his gallant army were exposed. 



GENERAL HARRISON. 29 

On the 6th of November he discovered the Prophet's town, 
about five miles in advance of him. Captain Dubois was de- 
spatched with a flag to the Indians, accompanied by an inter- 
preter, to ascertain from the Prophet whether he would now 
comply with the terms that had been so often proposed to liim. 
The army was moved slowly after, in the order of battle. In 
a few moments a messenger came from Captain Dubois, inform- 
ing the Governor that the Indians were close to him, in great 
numbers, but that they would return no answer to the inter- 
preter, although they were sufficiently near /to hear what was 
said to them ; and that upon his advancing, they persisted in 
their attempts to cut him off from the army. Governor Harri- 
son, after this last effort to open a negotiation, which was suffi- 
cient to show his wish for an accommodation, resolved to 
hesitate no longer in treating the Indians as enemies. He 
therefore recalled Captain Dubois, and moved on with a deter- 
mination to attack them. He had not proceeded far, however, 
before he was met by three Indians, one of them a principal 
counsellor of the Prophet. They were sent, they said, to 
know why the army was advancing upon them ; that the Pro- 
phet wished, if possible, to avoid hostilities ; that he had sent 
a pacific message by the Miami and Pottawatomie chiefs, who 
had come to him on the part of the Governor ; and that those 
chiefs had gone down on the south side of the Wabash, being 
the opposite shore of that traversed by the Governor and his 
army. A suspension of hostilities was accordingly agreed 
upon ; and a council was to take place the next day between 
Harrison and the chiefs, to concert terms of peace. The 
Governor further informed them that he would go on to the 
Wabash and encamp for the night. 

As soon as they were gone, he told his officers that he knew, 
from their language and behaviour, that they intended to at- 
tack him before morning. Confident that this was the "com/ic//" 
they meditated, he encamped his army, as we shall presently 
see, in the order of battle, and directed his men to lie down 
with their clothes on, and their arms by their sides. His predic- 
tions soon became history. 

After marching a short distance further, he came in view of 
the town, which was seen at some distance up the river, upon 

c2 



30 THELIFEOF 



a commanding eminence. The ground below the town being 
unfavourable for an encampment, the army marched on in the 
direction of the town, with the view of obtaining a better situa- 
tion beyond it. A halt was soon ordered, and some officers sent 
to examine a creek that ran near the town, as well as the river 
above it. In half an hour Brigade Major Clarke and Major 
Taylor returned, and reported that they had found on the creek 
" every thing that could be desirable in an encampment — an 
elevated spot, nearly surrounded by an open prairie, with wa- 
ter convenient, and a sufficiency of wood for fuel. This place, 
Avith the concurrence of the Governor, was chosen by Majors 
Taylor and Clarke, after examining all the environs of the 
town ; and when the army of General Hopkins was there in 
the following year, they all united in the opinion that a better 
spot to resist Indians was not to be found in the whole country."* 

The army now proceeded to the place selected, near the 
mouth of the Tippecanoe, from which the subsequent battle 
derived its title, and encamped, late in the evening, on a dry 
piece of ground which rose about ten feet above the level of a 
marshy prairie. The two columns of infantry occupied the 
front and rear. The right flank, being about eighty yards wide, 
was covered by Captain Spenser's company, of eighty men. 
The left flank was composed of three companies of mounted 
riflemen, under Major Wells. The front was composed of one 
battalion of United States Infantry, under the command of 
Major Floyd, flanked on the right by two companies of militia 
infantry ; and on the left, by one company of the same troops. 
The rear consisted of a battalion of United States infantry, un- 
der Captain Baen, commanding as Major, and four companies of 
militia infantry under Colonel Decker. The cavalry, under 
Daviess, were encamped in the rear of the front line. The en- 
campment was not more than three-fourths of a mile from the 
town. 

The order given to the army, in the event of a night attack, 
(which his intimate knowledge of the Indian mode of warfare 
induced Governor Harrison to anticipate and provide against,) 
was for "each corps to maintain its ground at all hazards until 



* McAfee's History of the Late War. 



GENERAL HARRISON. 31 

relieved."* The dragoons were directed, in such a case, to 
parade dismounted, with their swords on and their pistols in 
their belts, and to wait for orders. The guard for the night 
consisted of two Captain's commands of forty-tv/o men and 
four non-commissioned officers eacli ; and two subaltern's 
guards of twenty men and non-commissioned officers : the 
whole under the command of a field officer of the day. 

Before proceeding to a description of the celebrated battle 
which followed, we will pause to relate an incident which 
occurred the night before the victory that conferred so much 
glory upon American arms, and which happily illustrates the 
humanity and benevolence of Harrison's heart. 

Ben, a negro who belonged to the camp, deserted and went 
over to the Indians, and entered into a conspiracy to assassinate 
Governor Harrison, at the time the savages commenced their 
attack. Being apprehended whilst lurking about the Govern- 
or's marquee, waiting an opportunity to accomplish his fell pur- 
pose, he was tried by a court martial and sentenced to be shot. 
The execution of this sentence was delayed for a short time, in 
consequence of the troops being engaged in fortifying the camp. 
In the mean time, the negro was put into Indian stocks, that is, 
a log split open, notches cut in it to fit the culprit's legs, the 
upper piece then laid on, and the whole firmly staked into the 
ground. The Governor interposed, and pardoned the culprit. 
The reason assigned by the Governor for his clemency was as 
follows: "The fact was, that I began to pity him, and could 
not screw myself up to the point of giving the fatal order. If 
he had been out of my sight, he would have been executed. 
The pooi^ wretch lay confined before my fire, his face receiving 
the rain that occasionally fell, and his eyes constantly turned 
upon me as if imploring mercy. I could not withstand the 
appeal, and I determined to give him another chance for his 
life." This act of magnanimous lenity displays, in bright 
colours, the goodness of Harrison's heart ; and proves that no 
elevation of rank can cause him to forget the feelings of his 
fellow men: resentment, if it dwelt in his bosom, yielded to 
the pleading of mercy. 



• McAfee's History of the Late War, p. 28. 



32 THELIFEOF 

The men now busied themselves in fortifying the camp, 
This done, they retired to rest. Throughout the multitude 
who had lately been so active and busy, not a sound was 
heard save that of the sentinel as he paced his lonely round. 

The night was dark and cloudy; the moon rose late, 
and was overcast with clouds, which discharged a drizzling 
rain, 

*"Itwas the Governor's invariable practice to be ready to mount his horse at a 
moment's warning. On the morning of the 7th, he arose at a quarter before four 
o'clock, and sat by his fire conversing with the gentlemen of his mess, who were 
reclining on their blankets, waiting for the signal which in a few moments would 
have been given for the troops to turn out. The orderly drummer had been already 
roused for the reveille. The moon had risen, but afforded little light in consequence 
of being overshadowed by clouds. It was the uniform usage of Governor Harrison 
to call up the troops an hour before day, and keep them under arms until it was light. 
After four o'clock, General Wells, Colonel Owen and Colonel Daviess had all risen 
and joined the Governor, who was on the point of issuing his orders for raising the 
army, when the treacherous Indians had crept up so near the sentries as to hear them 
challenge when relieved. They intended to rush upon the sentries and kill them 
before they could fire: but one of the sentries discovered an Indian creeping towards 
him in the grass, and fired. This was immediately followed by the Indian yell, and 
a desperate charge upon the left flank. The guard in that quarter gave way and 
abandoned their officer, without making any resistance. Captain Barton's company 
of regulars and Captain Keiger's company of mounted riflemen, forming the left angle 
of the rear line, received the first onset. The fire there was excessive ; but the troops 
who had lain on their arms, were immediately prepared to receive, and gallantly re- 
sist the furious savage assailants. The manner of the attack was calculated to dis- 
courage and terrify the men ; yet as soon as they could be formed and posted, they 
maintained their ground with desperate valour, though but very few of them had 
ever before been in battle. The fires in the camp were extinguished immediately, as 
the light they afforded was more serviceable to the Indians than to our men. 

" As soon as the Governor could mount his horse, he proceeded towards the point 
of attack, and finding the line much weakened there, he ordered two companies 
from the centre of the rear line to march up and form across the angle in the rear 
of Barton's and Keiger's companies. General Wells immediately proceeded to the 
right of his command ; and Colonel Owen, who was with him, was proceeding di- 
rectly to the point of attack, when he was shot on his horse near the lines, and thus 
bravely fell among the first victims of savage perfidy. A heavy fire now commenced 
all along the left flank, upon the whole of the front and right flank, and on a part of 
the rear line. 

" In passing through the camp, towards the left of the front line, the Governor 
met with Colonel Daviess and the dragoons. The Colonel informed him that the 
Indians, concealed behind some trees near the line, were annoying the troops very 

* See McAfee's History of the Last War, published in 1816, from which this de- 
scription is taken ; pp. 29 — 36. 



GENERAL HARRISON. 33 

severely in that quarter ; and he requested permission to dislodge thetn, which was 
granted. He immediately called on the first division of his cavalry to follow him, 
but the order was not distinctly heard, and but few of his men charged with him. 
Among those who charged, were two yoinig gentlemen who had gone with him 
froiH Kentucky, Messrs. Mead and Sanders, who were afterwards distinguished as 
captains in the United States' service. They had not proceeded far out of the lines, 
when Daviess was mortally wounded by several balls and fell. His men stood by 
him, and repulsed the savages several times, till they succeeded in carrying him 
into camp. j 

" In the mean time the attack on Spencer's and Warwick's companies on the right, 
became very severe. Captain Spencer and his lieutenants were all killed, and Cap- 
tain Warwick was mortally wounded. The Governor, in passing towards that flank, 
found Captain Robb's company near the centre of the camp. They had been driven 
from their post ; or rather, had fallen back without orders. He sent them to the aid 
of Captain Spencer, where they fought very bravely, having seventeen men killed 
during the battle. Captain Prescott's company of United States' infantry, had fdled 
up the vacancy caused by the retreat of Robb's company. Soon after Colonel Da- 
viess was wounded. Captain Snelling, at the head of his company, charged on the 
same Indians and dislodged them with considerable loss. The battle was now main- 
tained on all sides with desperate valour. The Indians advanced and retreated by a 
rattling noise made with deer hoofs : they fought with enthusiasm, and seemed de- 
termined on victory or death. 

" As soon as daylight appeared. Captain Snelling's company, Captain Posey's, 
under Lieutenant Albright, and Captain Scott's, were drawn from the front line, anil 
Wilson's from the rear, and formed on the left flank ; while Cook's and Baen's com- 
panies were ordered to the right. General Wells took command of the corps formed 
on the left, and with the aid of some dragoons, who were now mounted and com- 
manded by Captain Park, made a successful charge on the enemy in that direction, 
driving them into an adjoining swamp, through which the cavalry could not pursue 
them. At the same time Cook's and Lieutenant Laribie's companies, with the aid 
of the riflemen and militia on the right flank, charged on the Indians and put them 
to flight in that quarter, which terminated the battle. 

" During the time of this contest, the Prophet kept himself secure, on an adjacent 
eminence, singing a war song. He had told his followers, that the Great Spirit 
would render the army of the Americans unavailing, and that their bullets would not 
hurt the Indians, who would have light, while their enemies were involved in thick 
darkness. Soon after the battle commenced, he was informed that his men were 
falling. He told them to fight on, it would soon be as he had predicted, and then began 
to sing louder. 

" Colonel Boyd commanded as a Brigadier General in this engagement ; and the 
Governor in his letter to the war department, speaks highly of him and his brigade, 
and of Clarke and Croghan who were his aids. Colonel Decker is also commended 
for the good order in which he kept his command : and of General Wells, it is said, 
that he sustained the fame which he had acquired in almost every campaign since the 
first settlement of Kentucky. 

" The officers and soldiers generally, performed their duties well. They acted 
with a degree of coolness, bravery, and good order, which was not to be expected 
from men unused to carnage, and in a situation so well calculated to produce terror 
5 



34 THELIFEOF 

and confusion. The fortune of war necessarily put it in the power of some officers 
and their men, at the expense of danger, wounds, and death, to render more service, 
and acquire more honour, than others : but to speak of their particular merits, would 
be to detail again the operations of the conflict. 

" Of Colonels Owen and Daviess, the Governor speaks in the highest terms. 
Owen joined him as a private in Keiger's company at Fokt Harrison, and accepted 
the place of volunteer aid. He had been a representative in the legislature of Ken- 
tucky. His character was that of a good citizen and a brave soldier. He left a wife 
and a large family of children, to add the poignancy of domestic grief to the public 
regret for his loss. 

" Captain Baen, who fell early in the action, had the character of an able officer 
and a brave soldier. Captain Spencer was wounded in the head — he exhorted his 
men to fight on. He was then shot through both thighs and fell — still he continued to 
encourage his men. He was then raised up, and received a ball through his body which 
immediately killed him. His lieutenants, McMahan and Berry, fell bravely encou- 
raging their men. Warwick was shot through the body, and was taken to the sur- 
gery to be dressed : as soon as it was over, being a man of much bodily strength 
and still able to walk, he insisted on going back to his post, though it was evident he 
had but a few hours to live. Colonel White, formerly United States agent at the 
Saline, was also killed in the action. The whole number MUed, with those who 
died soon of their wounds, was upwards of fifty : the wounded were about double 
that number. Governor Harrison himself narrowly escaped, the hair on his head 
being cut by a ball. 

" The Indians left thirty-eight warriors dead on the field, and buried several others 
in the town, which with those who must have died of their wounds, would make their 
loss at least as great as that of the Americans. The troops under the command of 
Governor Harrison of every description, amounted on the day before the battle, to 
something m6re than eight hundred. The ordinary force, that had been at the Pro- 
phet's town, through the preceding summer, was about four hundred and fifty. But 
they were joined a few days before the -action, by all the Kickapoos of the Prairie, 
and by many bands of Pottawatamies from the Illinois river, and the St. Josephs of 
Lake Michigan. They estimated their number after the battle, to have been eight 
hundred ; but the traders, who had a good opportunity of knowing, made them at 
least fourteen hundred. However it is certain, that no victory was ever before ob- 
tained over the Northern Indians, where the numbers were any thing like equal. 
The number of killed too was greater than was ever before known. It is their cus- 
tom always to avoid a close action, and from their dexterity in hiding themselves, but 
few of them can be killed, even when they are pouring destruction into the ranks of 
their enemy. It is believed that there were not ten of them killed at St. Clair's de- 
feat, although one thousand Americans were massacred, and still fewer at Braddock's. 
At Tippecanoe, they rushed up to the bayonets of our men, and in one instance, re- 
lated by Captain Snelling, an Indian adroitly put the bayonet of a soldier aside, and 
clove his head with his war-club — an instrument on which there is fixed a triangular 
piece of iron, broad enough to project several inches from the wood. Their conduct 
on this occasion, so different from what it usually is, was attributed to the confidence 
of success, with which their Prophet had inspired them, and to the distinguished 
bravery of the Winebago warriors. 

« The Indians did not determine to attack the American camp till late at night 



GENERAL HARRISON. 35 

The plan that was formed the evening before, was, to meet the Governor in council 
the next day, and agree to the terms he proposed. At the close of the council, the 
chiefs were to retire to the warriors, who were to be placed at a convenient distance. 
The Governor was then to be killed by two Winebagoes, who had devoted themselves 
to certain death to accomplish this object. They were to loiter about the camp after 
the council had broken up ; and their killing the Governor and raising the war-whoop, 
were to be the signal for a general attack. The Indians were commanded by White 
Loon, Stone-eater, and Winemac, a Pottawatamie chief, who had been with the 
Governor on his march, and at Fort Harrison, making great professions of friend- 
ship. 

" The 4th regiment was about two hundred and fifty strong ; and there were about 
sixty volunteers from Kentucky in the army. The rest of the troops were volunteers 
from the Indiana miUtia. Those from the neighbourhood of Vincennes had been 
trained for several years by the Governor, and had become very expert in the manoeu- 
vres which he had adopted for fighting the Indians. The greater part of the territo- 
rial troops followed him as well from personal attachment as from a sense of duty. 
Indeed, a greater degree of confidence and personal attachment has 
rarely been found in anx armt towards its commander, than existed in 
this ; nor has there been manx battles in which the dependence op the 
ARMT ON ITS LEADER WAS MORE DISTINCTLY FELT. During the wholc action the 
Governor was constantly on the lines, and always repaired to the point which was 
most hardly pressed. The reinforcements drawn occasionally from the points most 
secure, were conducted by himself, and formed on the spot where their services were 
most wanted. The oflScers and men, who believed that their ultimate success 
depended on his safety, warmly remonstrated against his so constantly exposing 
himself. Upon one occasion, as he was approaching an angle of the line, against 
which the Indians were advancing with horrible yells. Lieutenant Emerson of the 
dragoons, seized the bridle of his horse, and earnestly entreated that he would not go 
there ; but the Governor putting spurs to his horse, pushed on to the point of attack, 
where the enemy were received with firmness and driven back. 

" The army remained in the camp on the 7th and 8th of November, to bury the 
dead and dress the wounded ; and to make preparations for returning. During this 
time. General Wells was permitted with the mounted riflemen to visit the town, 
which he found evacuated by all, except a chief whose leg was broken. The town 
was well prepared for an attack, and no doubt but the Indians fully expected it; for 
they had determined to agree to no terms which could be offered. The wounds of 
the chief being dressed, and provision made for him, he was left with instructions to 
tell his companions that if they would abandon the Prophet and return to their 
respective tribes, they should be forgiven." 

The victory of Tippecanoe was one of the most important 
conflicts which ever occurred between the Indians and the 
whites. The Indian forces far excelled the American army in 
number ; yet notwithstanding this, and their attempted surprise, 
they were totally routed by the gallantry, courage and consum- 
mate generalship of Harrison. 

The high sense entertained by the government of the ira- 



36 THELIFEOF 

portance of this victory, is emphatically expressed in a message 
from the President to Congress, dated December ISth, 1811. 

" While it is deeply to be lamented," says Mr. Madison, " that so many valuable 
lives have been lost in the action which took place on the 9th ult., Congress will see 
with satisfaction the dauntless spirit and fortitude victoriously displayed by every 
description of troops engaged, as well as the collected firmness which distinguished their 
commander, on an occasion requiring the utmost exertion of valour and discipline." 

Resolutions were also passed by the Legislatures of Indiana 
and Kentucky of a similar import. The following is the reso- 
lution of the latter body, on motion of the Hon. J, J. Crittenden, 
now a distinguished member of the United States Senate. 

" Resolved, That in the late campaign against the Indians on the Wabash, Governor 
William Henry Harrison has, in the opinion of this Legislature, behaved like a hero, 
a patriot and a General,- and that for his cool, deliberate, skilful and gallant con- 
duct in the late battle of Tippecanoe, he deserves the warmest thanks of the nation." 

The panegyric thus conferred was richly merited, as nothing 
could exceed the daring with which he exposed his person, at 
those points where the battle raged most hotly. Well known 
to many of the Indians, and the object of their peculiar attack, 
his fearlessness and unshrinking exposure, make it appear almost 
a miracle that he should have escaped unwounded. In some 
instances, as stated by McAfee in the extract we have before 
made from his work, this exposure was so great as to demand 
the urgent interference of his officers — a circumstance which 
has occurred to no other officer of whom we have ever read, 
except Washington, at Long Island. In referring to the per- 
sonal intrepidity of Governor Harrison, we cannot refrain from 
making the following extracts from a private journal published 
in Keene, New Hampshire, by Adam Walker, a private soldier 
who fought in this battle, and who could have had no interested 
motives for his publication. 

" General Harrison," he says, " received a shot through the rim of his hat. In the 
heat of the action, his voice was frequently heard, and easily distinguished, giving his 
orders in the same calm, cool and collected manner, with which we had been used 
to receive them on drill or parade. The confidence of the troops in the General was 
unlimited." 

The same intelligent writer, in speaking of Harrison's kind- 
ness to the soldiers, and his influence over them, remarks, 

" He appeared not disposed to detain any mari against his inclination ; being 
endowed by nature with a heart as humane as brave, in his frequent addresses to the 
militia, his eloquence was formed to persuade ; appeals were made to reason as welJ 
as to feeling, and never were they made in vain." 



GENERAL HARRISON. 37 

On the return of Governor Harrison, the Speaker of the 
• Legislature of Indiana, General William Johnson, thus addressed 
him : — 

" The House of Kepresentatives of the Indiana territory, in their own name, and 
in behalf of their constituents, most cordially reciprocate the congratulations of your 
Excellency on the glorious result of the late sanguinary conflict with the Shawnee 
Prophet, and the tribes of Indians confederated with him ; when we see displayed in 
behalf of our country, not only the consummate abilities af the General, but the 
heroism of the man,- and when we take into view the benefits which must result to 
that country from those exertions, we cannot, for a moment, withhold our meed of 
applause." 

The gallant Colonel Daviess, who, as has been already men- 
tioned, fell at the battle of Tippecanoe, stated in a letter written 
a short time before his death, — 

" I make free to declare that I have imagined there were two military men in the 
West, and General Harrison is the first of the two." 

Soon after the battle, thirteen of the principal officers of the 
army, issued an address, in which they declared, that 

" Should our country again require our services to oppose a civilized or savage foe, 

WE SHOULD MARCH UNBER GENERAL HaRRISON WITH THE MOST PERFECT CON- 
FIDENCE OF VICTORY AND FAME." 

The VICTORY OF Tippecanoe was hailed throughout the 
country with joy, and every demonstration of gratitude to the 
invincible Harrison. The hardy yeomanry of the West per- 
mitted no limits to be imposed on their rejoicing. It was ce- 
lebrated in every town, village, bar-room, and hamlet, in the 
valley of the Ohio, and there were few firesides but burnt 
brighter and more cheerfully, as the honest housewife congra- 
lated herself and children on their escape from the fagot, the 
vengeful scalping knife, or reeking tomahawk, of the grim 
monsters of the woods. 

The eftect of the victory of Tippecanoe, was the immediate 
dispersion of the hostile bands of barbarians, who had hereto- 
fore hung on the Western frontier. The various tribes de- 
nounced Tecumseh, and disclaimed all connexion with him, 
and shortly afterwards sent eighty deputies* to Governor Har- 



* These deputies promised to deliver the Prophet into the hands of the United 
States, as soon as they could catch him, and went away, resolved, as McAfee remarks, 
" not to commit hostilities again, until a favourable opportunity offered." Tecumseh 
appeared at Fort Wayne during the following winter, (1811-12,) and by his com- 
plaints against General Harrison, bore an unwilUng but sincere testimony to his 

D 



38 THE LIFE OF 

rison, to treat for peace, on the terms of total submission. Far 
different would have been the scene had the Prophet triumphed ; 
towns would have been sacked, hamlets burned, and the peaceful 
tenement of the settler offered up a sacrifice to savage fury. 

During the time the events which we have just related, were 
transpiring, a crisis had arisen in the national intercourse be- 
tween Great Britain and the United States. We have elsewhere 
stated that she still continued to hold some of the most important 
fortresses on the frontier ; that she had placed the Canadas in 
such a situation as to use them for offensive or defensive ope- 
rations, as circumstances might require; she had also committed 
unprovoked depredations on our commerce. The hour for re- 
tribution was now fast approaching. The spirit of the people 
had been aroused, and nothing short of an open declaration of 
war could allay it. Of the circumstances which led to the De- 
claration of War, Tecumseh was doubtlessly apprized. Accord- 
ingly we find that he instantly renewed those intrigues among 
the Indians for which he had been so celebrated. The result 
was, that their minds, at all times fickle, became again influ- 
enced with a sanguinary desire for slaughter. The aid which 
had been afforded, and the alliance which was now tendered 
to them, by their British brethren, settled the wavering, and 
determined the doubtful ; and we find them, in the war which 
followed, at all times companions with the latter in arms, and 
scarcely excelling them in their bloody vengeance. 



greatness. He then demanded ammunition, which the commandant refusing, he 
threatened to " go to his British father" for it: after spending a few moments, in a 
moody silence, he uttered the war-whoop and disappeared in the forest. 



GENERAL HARRISON. sa 



CHAPTER IV. 

Declaration of War — Reliance on Harrison — Treason of Hull — Disastrous state of 
the contest — Harrison appointed to the command of the Kentucky forces — Arrival 
of Harrison at Fort Wayne — Indians retire at his approach — General Winchester 
appointed — Discontent of the army — Winchester superseded — Harrison commis- 
sioned by Madison — Great powers conferred on him — Attachment and devotion 
of the troops to Harrison — Commences vigorous operations — Massacre at the River 
Raisin — Occasioned by a disobedience of Harrison's orders — Renewed efforts of 
defence — The army encamped at Fort Meigs — Investment of Fort Meigs by the 
British and Indians — Anecdotes of Harrison — Gallant defence of Fort Meigs — 
Admirable and successful military stratagem — Heroism of Harrison — The enemy 
repulsed. 

War against Great Britain was declared on the 18th of 
June, 1812. The interval between the battle of Tippecanoe, 
and the declaration of war, was spent by Governor Harrison 
in putting the frontier in a state of defence. Interviews with him 
were solicited by the governors of most of the Western States, in 
which measures were projected for enrolling and equipping 
troops, and preparing the munitions of war for the approaching 
conflict. 

Conscious of his great abilities and experience, and the uni- 
versal confidence reposed in his military skill, by the entire 
population of the West, they placed the utmost reliance on his 
counsels, and looked to him as the only leader under whom 
they could confidently expect success against the common 
enemy. Having aided Governor Edwards in. placing the fron- 
tier of Illinois in a posture of defence, he was soon after invited 
by Governor Scott of Kentucky, a distinguished revolutionary 
officer, to a conference in relation to the Kentucky troops, 
which had been raised for the defence of the frontier. He 
complied with tlie invitation, and met Governor Scott at Frank- 
fort; where he v/as received with enthusiastic and tumultuary 
acclamations by the people, and with the highest civil and 
military honours. These signal marks of the ardent attach- 
ment and unbounded confidence of the people whom he had 
so triumphantly defended from the hostile savages, who me- 



40 THELIFEOF 

naced all t^e frontier settlements with destruction by the fagot 
or the scalping knife, were soon after followed by still more 
flattering proofs of their high admiration and regard for his 
patriotism, abilities and military prowess. 

It was obvious that the first blow of the enemy would fall 
on the West, but with a chivalry truly characteristic, it neither 
murmured nor faltered, but equipped for the field. We will 
not pause to narrate the disasters of the campaign under Hull. 
Chicago and Mackinaw were taken by the enemy. Detroit 
shortly after fell by treason, and throughout the whole frontier, 
the mortification of defeat was rendered more poignant by the 
prospect of a wide-spread savage slaughter. Shortly before 
the fall of Detroit, letters were received from the army, stating 
their total want of confidence in the capacity and integrity of 
Hull. (See McAfee's History of the War, pages 84 and 85. 
Letter from Cass, the late Secretary of War.) 

" These letters," says McAfee, " also declared it to be the common wish of thb 

AKMT THAT GoTERNOU HaRRISON SHOULD ACCGMPANT THE EXPECTED REIIf- 
rORCEMENT." 

Harrison was justly regarded at the time as the most capa- 
ble, as well as the most popular General in the West. His 
courage and daring at Tippecanoe, had given him a high place 
in the affections of the people. 

-i. Governor Scott had levied an armed force of more than five 
thousand miUtia and volunteers, commanded by some of the 
ablest men and most experienced ofiicers in the state. Two 
thousand of these troops were ordered for immediate service j 
and they had no sooner learned that they were destined to 
march to the aid of their countrymen on the frontier, than they 
at once unanimously expressed the most earnest desire to be 
placed under the command of Governor Harrison. This feel- 
ing was responded to by the great mass of the people through- 
out the state. The laws of Kentucky, however, would not 
permit any other than a citizen to hold a command in the 
state militia. In this dilemma, Governor Scott consulted with 
the venerable Shelby, (the governor elect,) and other dis- 
tinguished citizens of the state,* and by their unanimous advice 

• A caucus was called on the subject of the appointment. " At this caucus, com- 
posed of General Shelby, the Honourable Henry Clay, Speaker of the House of 



GENERAL HARRISON. 41 

he gave Harrison a brevet commission of Major-General in the 
Kentucky miUtia, with express authority to take command of 
the gallant troops about to march to the frontier. This was a 
bold and unprecedented measure, but one that gave unbounded 
satisfaction to both soldiers and citizens, and one fully justified 
by the peculiar exigencies of the case. This unexpected pro- 
ceeding on the part of Governor Scott and the authorities of 
Kentucky, conveyed a eulogy on the various military acts of 
the chivalrous Harrison such as no words can express. It 
speaks volumes in favour of his unexampled popularity and 
high military reputation, enjoyed among a bold and gallant 
people, boasting an unusual proportion of distinguished and 
able men. 

Shortly afterwards he marched for the seat of war, at the 
head of seven thousand Kentuckians — as gallant and chivalric 
a band as ever rallied beneath the banner of freedom. It was 
composed of men of the greatest intelligence and influence in 
the state. The hardy yeoman marched shoulder to shoulder 
with the lawyer who had aided in the administration of justice, 
or the physician whose skill had relieved the diseases of his 
children. Even the sacred ministers of God closed the volume 
of gospel news, extinguished the fire on the altar, and bidding 
the army " God speed !" swept on to meet the foe. Such were 
the men who had enrolled themselves beneath the flag of Har- 
rison. 

Harrison had not proceeded far in his march when he was 
informed that Winchester had been appointed by the War 
Department, who were ignorant of the proceedings in Ken- 
tucky, to the command of the troops. This information was 
received with murmurs of indignation throughout the army. 
The revolutionary veteran, Shelby, immediately wrote to the 



Representatives in Congress, the Honourable Thomas Todd, Judge of the Federal 
Court, &c. &c., it was unanimously resolved to give Harrison a brevet commission 
of Major-General in the Kentucky militia, and authorize him to take command. 
The appointment received the general approbation of the people, and was hailed by 
the troops of Cincinnati with the utmost enthusiastic joy." — McAfee's History of the 
Lnst War, p. 108, 

General Harrison appointed the Hon. R. M, Johnson, now Vice-President of the 
United States, one of his aids. — lb, p. 109. 

' 6 p2 



42 THE LIFE OF 

Secretary of War, remonstrating against any change by which 
Harrison should be superseded, as destructive of the objects of 
the campaign. Harrison, however, yielding up his own eleva- 
tion, and the appointment of Brigadier-General in the service 
of the United States, which was at the same time tendered 
him, a sacrifice to his country's good, submitted to the dictate 
of authority, and pressed forward with haste to the relief of 
Fort Wayne, which had been for ten days besieged by the 
Indians. 

The news of his approach had gone before him ; and on his 
arrival, the savages dispersed without hazarding a battle. Such 
indeed was his reputation for invincible skill and gallantry, that a 
writer of that day observes, " Harrison's presence inspires 

EVERY PERSON WITH COURAGE, AND MAKES EVEN COWARDS 

BRAVE." This reputation alone spared the effusion of human 
blood at Fort Wayne. Shortly after Harrison arrived at Fort 
Wayne, General Winchester, an old and meritorious revolu- 
tionary officer, came to take command of the troops. But the 
reputation of Winchester did not satisfy them with him as a 
substitute for their favourite General. Loud murmurs ran 
through the camp, and some openly refused to submit to the 
change. So great was the discontent, that nothing short of 
Harrison's disinterested and magnanimous efforts could recon- 
cile them to their new commander : they finally submitted, but 
under a promise that Harrison should be restored to them as 
soon as the War Department could be heard from. McAfee, 
in his History of the Last War, remarks : — 

" The troops had confidently expected that General Harrison would be confirmed 
in the command ; and by this time he had completely received the confidence of 
every soldier in the army. He was affable and courteous in his manners, and inde- 
fatigable in his attention to every branch of business. His soldiers seemed to anti- 
cipate the wishes of their General : it was only necessary to be known that he wished 
something done, and all were anxious to risk their lives in its accomplishment. His 
men would have fought better and suffered more with him, than with ant othek 
Gekehal in America : and whatever might have been the merits of General Win- 
chester, it was certainly an unfortunate arrangement which transferred the command 
to him at this moment. It is absolutely necessary that militia soldiers should have 
great confidence in their General, if they are required either to obey with great 
promptness, or to fight with bravery. The men were at last reconciled to march 
under Winchester, but with a confident belief that Harruon would be placed in the 
command; which accordingly was done, as soon as the War Department was 



GENERAL HARRISON. 43 

informed of his appointment in the Kentucky troops, and his popularity in the 
vrestern country." 

For no sooner was President Madison made aware of the 
discontent in the army, and of the almost unanimous wishes 
of the western people, than he immediately appointed Harri- 
son, in the place of Winchester, commander of the North- West- 
ern army. 

A letter was addressed to General Harrison by the immortal 
Perry, about the time of the appointment of Winchester to the 
command, from which we make the following extract: 

" You know what has been my opinion as to the future commander-in-chief of the 
army. I pride myself not a little, I assure you, on seeing my predictions so near 
being verified. Yes, my dear friend, I expect soon to hail you as the chief who 

IS TO BESEEM THE HONOUR OF OUR ARMS IN THE NORTH." 

General McArthur, who had also served under General Har- 
rison, addressed his friend and old commander on the subject, 
in which he remarked : — 

"You, SIB, STAND THE HIGHEST WITH THE MILITIA OF THIS STATE OF ANT 

General in the service, and I am confident that no man can fight them 
TO so GREAT AUVANTAGE ; and I think their extreme solicitude may be the means 
of calling you to this frontier." 

On retiring from the army, after Winchester's appointment, 
General Harrison hastened homeward to resume his duties as 
Governor of Indiana. He had proceeded part of the way, 
when he received a despatch from the Secretary of War, of 
which the following is an extract. 

"War Depart3ient, September 17, 1812. 
« Sir, — The President is pleased to assign to you the command of the north-western 
army, which in addition to the regular troops and rangers in that quarter, will con- 
sist of the volunteers and militia of Kentucky, Ohio, and three thousand from Vir- 
ginia and Pennsylvania, making your whole force ten thousand men." 
After having stated the objects of the campaign, the despatch proceeds : 
"With these objects in view, you will command such means as may 

BE practicable, EXERCISE YOUR OWN DISCRETION, AND ACT IN ALL CASES 

according to your own JUDGMENT. Very respectfully, &c. 

« W. EUSTIS. 
" Brig. Gen. William Henry Harbison." 

The power thus conferred on General Harrison was greater 
than had ever been exercised by any commander, excepting 
only Washington and Green. It was equalled only by that 
which he had exercised in a civil capacity, with so mucli 
«.; edit to himself and advantage to the government. 



44 THE LIFE OF 

President Madison, in communicating to Congress, Novem- 
ber, 1812, the preparations for defence, which had been made, 
stated that "an ample force from the States of Kentucky, Ohio, 
Pennsylvania, and Virginia, is placed, with the addition of a 
few regulars, under the command of General Harrison, who 

POSSESSES THE ENTIRE CONFIDENCE OP HIS FELLOW SOLDIERS, 

among whom are citizens, some of them volunteers in the 
ranks, not less distinguished by their political stations than 
by their personal merits." 

This EXTENSIVE COMMAND WAS CONFERRED BY JaMES 

Madison, a democrat of the Jefferson school, and one of the 
purest patriots that ever breathed. Nor was it given without 
a full knowledge of the merits of the recipient. Mr. Madison 
entered upon the duties of Secretary of State under Thomas 
Jefferson, in the year ISOl, shortly after Harrison had been 
appointed Governor of Indiana. They had served together 
through the whole of Jefferson's administration; and the Se- 
cretary of State must have been familiar with the manner in 
which the duties of Governor of Indiana had been discharged. 
Nothing but an exalted sense of Harrison's worth and abilities, 
could have induced the appointment. We will only add that 
he remained in office under Mr. Madison, till near the expiration 
of his term of service. 

Immediately on receiving this appointment. General Harrison 
proceeded at once to the command of the army, which he found 
in a state of almost open rebellion. His arrival, which occurred 
at night, was unknown to the army. Early in the morning he 
had them paraded, and unexpectedly presented himself before 
them. The effect was electrical. Every voice was raised in 
long and loud applause, and a general enthusiasm pervaded 
the camp. With characteristic happiness he seized this moment 
to reconcile them to their duty, and made them a patriotic and 
spirit stirring speech, in which he reminded them of their obliga- 
tions to themselves, their families, and their country. Their in- 
stant return to duty proved that they were dissatisfied with their 
former Commander, and not the service in which they had 
engaged. The universal and devoted personal attachment en- 
tertained for General Harrison, by every species of troops who 
served under him — their unlimited confidence in his courage. 



GENERAL HARRISON. 45 

skill, and great capacity for command — will remind the reader 
of the same peculiarity in the career of the immortal "Father 
OP HIS COUNTRY." It was this feeling among the People 
throughout the valleys of the Ohio and Mississippi, and the 
services and ennobling traits in the character of Harrison, 
which won for him the proud title of "The Washington 
OF THE West." During the whole period of his military 
services, amidst all the privations, toils and sufferings of a 
war carried on in an uninhabited country, covered with 
swamps and woods, he never caused a soldier to be punished. 
Yet no General ever commanded the confidence, admiration 
and obedience of the militia to a greater extent. When asked 
by a fellow officer how he managed to gain the control over 
his troops which he possessed, he answered, 

" By treating them with affection and kindness— by always recollecting that they 
were my fellow-citizens, whose feelings I was bound to respect, and sharing, on every 
occasion, the hardships they were obliged to undergo." 

Harrison now commenced exertions to forward supplies for 
the expedition against Maiden. It was at this time he suggested 
to Mr. Madison the creation of a navy on the Lakes ; and to 
him, as the author of this measure, is to be ascribed, the sub- 
sequent victories, by which the fame of our gallant navy has 
been rendered immortal. The project of a fleet on Lake Erie, 
was at once undertaken at his instance, in consequence of the 
unbounded confidence of Mr. Madison in the great military 
talents and prudence of Harrison. 

Owing to the advanced state of the season, nothing of im- 
portance was effected during this campaign. Harrison, how- 
ever, spent every hour of his time in laborious preparations for 
the ensuing summer, — in erecting forts, creating depots and 
cutting roads through the wilderness ; in fine, in preparing the 
face of the country for active operations. 

The duties that now devolved on General Harrison were 
arduous beyond description. The troops under his command, 
though brave, were either volunteers for a limited period of 
time, or inexperienced and undisciplined recruits ; and the 
army was badly equipped, and nearly destitute of baggage and 
military stores. With these inadequate means, and under these 
unfavourable circumstances, he was required to defend an im 



46 THELIFEOF 

mense extent of frontier, stretching along the shores of the great 
northern lakes, whose numerous harbours and rivers were easy 
of access to the enemy. In addition to this, the roads leading 
to those points which most required defence, were nearly im- 
passable, and lay, for hundreds of miles, through a wilderness 
swarming with hostile Indians, and through gloomy and dan- 
gerous swamps, where the troops, though little encumbered 
with baggage, could advance but slowly and with great labour. 
But under all these difficulties, the spirits of the soldiers were 
sustained by the presence and example of their favourite com- 
mander, who animated them in their fatigues, and cheerfully 
endured the same hardships and privations which they en- 
countered. 

The published accounts of our recent war with the Seminoles 
in Florida, the disastrous details of which have been made but 
too familiar to us, will convey to our readers some idea of the 
peculiar dangers and difficulties of this campaign, and of the 
skill and fortitude required to overcome them. In either case, 
we were opposed by the same savage foe, and the country was 
almost inaccessible from the same causes — its unhealthiness at 
that season of the year, and its extensive and treacherous 
swamps, the passes through which were known only to the 
hostile Indians, by whom they were occupied ; — with perhaps, 
in the two cases, but this difference only, that the northern 
Indians are well known to be much fiercer and more formida- 
ble warriois than their southern brethren; and that, during the 
whole of this campaign, they were kept constantly supplied by 
the British with more effective arms and ammunition. 

It was at this time that the massacre at the river Raisin, so 
memorable in the annals of blood, occurred. Winchester, who 
was now subordinate to Harrison, had been ordered by the 
General to fall back to Fort Jennings, as the latter had received 
information that Tecumseh was in his vicinity, with an over- 
whelming force of Indians. Instead of obeying this order, 
Winchester sent Colonel Lewis with six hundred men forward 
to the river Raisin, to protect the farms. Lewis in turn exceeded 
his orders, and pushed forward to Frenchtown, only eighteen 
miles from Maiden. He there attacked and routed the combined 
British and Indian forces, and with the greatest gallantry drove 



GENERAL HARRISON. 47 

them two miles at the point of the bayonet. Had he now- 
retired, all would have been well; but he resolved to hold 
Frenchtown, and of this resolution Winchester unfortunately- 
approved. The British, hearing of the defeat of their men, seht 
down large reinforcements from Maiden. Winchester also 
came up to the aid of Lewis. The British commenced a furi- 
ous assault, by which Winchester's line was broken and scat- 
tered. The Indians, taking advantage of this, gained the flank, 
overpowered the remaining forces, and commenced a most 
horrible butchery. One hundred and twenty prisoners were 
slaughtered in one spot. Graves, who commanded the remain- 
ing division of the army, surrendered, on Proctor's pledge of 
security for himself and men. A few men were marched to 
Maiden; the remainder were delivered over to the 

TENDER MERCIES OF THE REMORSELESS SAVAGES, AND WERE 
ALL BUTCHERED, WITH THE KNOWLEDGE AND APPROBATION OP 

Proctor. For this courageous and humane act, Proctor was 
promoted.* 

The defeat of Winchester, and the foul massacre at the river 
Raisin, produced great excitement throughout the western 
country. It was the result of General Winchester's departure 
from the express commands of General Harrison. Had the 
former fallen back on Fort Jennings, as he was directed by 
Harrison, the immense effusion of innocent blood, and the dis- 
credit of a surrender, would have been spared. Lewis, who in 
turn disregarded Winchester's orders, by marching to French- 
town, was also in part responsible for the lamentable conse- 
quences. The efforts of General Harrison to correct the errors 
of Winchester, and avert the catastrophe which followed, were 
almost superhuman, and displayed the irrepressible energies 
and dauntless spirit of a matchless soldier. 

On the evening that General Harrison received— not from 
Winchester, but indirectly— the intelligence of General Win- 
chester's contemplated movement against the enemy on the 
river Raisin, he immediately despatched an express to the 
Rapids for further information. Apprehensive of some dis- 
aster, and fearing that it was too late to prevent the design of 



See McAfee, Niles' Register, and the Journals of the day, for particulars. 



48 THE LIFE OF 

Winchester from being attempted, he gave orders for a corps 
of three hundred men to hasten on with the artillery, and for 
escorts to advance without delay, with provisions and military 
stores. Not satisfied, however, with these arrangements, the 
next morning he jiroceeded himself to Lower Sandusky, at 
which place he arrived the following night ; having travelled 
a distance of forty miles in seven hours and a half, over 
roads requiring such exertion to pass them, that the horse of 
his aid. Major Hakill,fzll dead, from fatigue and exhaustion , 
on their arrival at the fort. 

He found there, that General Perkins had prepared to send 
a battalion to the Rapids, in conformity with a request from 
General Winchester, The battalion was despatched the next 
morning, the 18th, with a piece of artillery; but so bad were 
the roads, that it was unable, by its utmost exertions, to reach 
the river Raisin, a distance of seventy-five miles, before the 
fatal defeat. 

General Harrison now determined to proceed to the Rapids 
himself, to learn personally from General Winchester, his situ- 
ation and views. There was but one regiment and a battalion 
at Lower Sandusky. The regiment was immediately put in 
motion with orders to make forced marches for the Rapids, 
while General Harrison himself immediately proceeded to the 
same place. 

His anxiety to push forward, and either prevent or remedy 
any misfortune which might occur, as soon as he was apprized 
of Ihe advance to the river Raisin, was so great, that he started 
in a sleigh, with General Perkins, to overtake the battalion 
under Cotgreve, attended only by a single servant. As the 
sleigh went very slowly, from the roughness of the road, he 
took the horse of his servant and pushed on alone. Night 
came upon him in the midst of the swamp, which was so im- 
perfectly frozen, that his horse sank to the saddle-girths at every 
step. He had then no resource but to dismount and lead his 
horse, jumping himself from one sod to another! When 
almost exhausted with the cold and fatigue, the General over- 
took one of Cotgreve's men, by whose assistance he was en- 
abled to reach the camp of the battalion. 

This is but one of many similar incidents in the eventful and 



GENERAL HARRISON. 49 

glorious career of that truly great man, which evinced, not by 
empty and high sounding words, but by personal sacrifices 
and perils, his devoted love of country, its interests, honour, 
and glory. While the puny aspirants for the applause of the 
city ball-room, who now affect to sneer at the mighty deeds of 
valour performed by Harrison, were luxuriously reclining in 
their arm-chairs before a blazing fireside, thus was the veteran 
whom they pretend to ridicule, ranging the forests of the fron- 
tier, alone and on foot, at night, and in the dead of winter, in 
pursuit of the enemies of his country. While the highly- 
scented fopling — whose highest ambition is to "caper nimbly in 
a lady's chamber," but who essays to jeer and laugh at the 
gray hairs of the aged soldier, and to denounce him as " the 
tenant of a log cabin, drinking his cup of hard cider," — was 
hugged closer to his mother's breast, as the scenes of horror 
enacting on the frontier were recounted, the gallant Harrison 
was baring his breast to the tomahawk of the savage, who, 
but for his arm, would have carried death, prolonged by torture, 
and desolation, aggravated by atrocities at which the heart 
shudders, to every fireside in the west ! 

Very early on the morning of the 26ih, General Harrison 
arrived at the Rapids, from which place General Winchester 
had gone, on the preceding evening, with all his disposable 
force, to the river Raisin. On the same day, by a forced march 
Cotgreve's battalion reached the Rapids, and was without de- 
Jay, hurried on with two pieces of artillery to the aid of Win- 
chester. On the evening of the 21st, three hundred Kentuckians, 
who had been left behind by Winchester, as a garrison, were 
Hkewise ordered to march to Frenchtown. The next day in- 
telligence reached the Rapids of Proctor's attack on Winches- 
ter's camp, and General Harrison instantly ordered the whole 
force at that station to be pushed on with all possible expedition, 
and himself hastened forward to the scene of danger. Th(!y 
were soon, however, met by fugitives from the field of battle, 
from whom they learned the total defeat of Winchester's forces. 
A council was held of general and field officers, by whom it 
was decided that it would be imprudent and useless to advance 
any further. Strong parties were sent out to protect the fugi- 
7 E 



50 THELIFEOF 

tives from the field of battle and from Frenchtown, and the 
remainder of the troops returned to the Rapids. 

Thus was every thing done by General Harrison to avert 
the fatal dif^aster which he had apprehended from the disobedi- 
ence, by Winchester, of his orders. This expedition of General 
Winchester to the river Raisin, was highly imprudent, not to 
say absolutely culpable, since he advanced within eighteen 
miles of the head-quarters of the enemy, whose forces were 
strong and daily increasing, and he, at the same time, removed 
more than thirty miles from the Rapids — the nearest point 
from which he could possibly receive any assistance. Still the 
calamity that ensued would no doubt have been avoided, had 
he adopted the ordinary precautions of fortifying his camp, and 
stationing videttes to give him timely warning of the enemy's 
approach. His troops could then have defended themselves, 
at least, until the arrival of reinforcements from the Rapids, 
when the enemy would have been compelled to retreat, or, 
had they fought, the battle would, in all probability, have ter- 
minated in our favour. 

After Winchester's defeat, our troops at the Rapids 
amounted to less than nine hundred effective men. General 
Harrison called a council of war, who, supposing that their 
position would be attacked by the enemy in overwhelming 
force, unanimously recommended that the army should fall 
back to the Portage River, eighteen miles distant. The next 
morning, therefore, our troops abandoned the Rapids, and re- 
tired to the designated point, which they strongly fortified. 

But on the 1st of February, the army again marched to the 
Rapids, having been reinforced by the arrival of General Left- 
wich, with the Virginia brigade and a part of the artillery, 
. augmenting their number to eighteen hundred men. 

Instead of the severe cold and intense frosts, that usually 
prevailed in this northern region at this season, and which 
would have enabled General Harrison to move his forces, mili- 
tary stores and supplies, with comparative ease and celerity, 
warm rains broke up the roads, and were followed by heavy 
falls of snow, which rendered the march of the troops exceed- 
ingly fatiguing and dangerous, as well as slow, and the con- 
veyance of provisions and heavy munitions of war almost im- 



GENERAL HARRISON. 51- 

possible. The unavoidable exposure, too, of the troops to the 
heavy rains, which kept the encampment almost constantly in- 
undated, the deficiency of proper tents to shelter them, and 
their want even of sufficient food and clothing, produced pleu- 
risies and much other severe sickness in the camp, and greatly 
reduced the number of effective men. 

The General's tent, placed in the centre, happened to be in 
one of the lowest parts of the encampment, and consequently 
suffered most from the rain; but when entreated by his officers 
to change its position, he refused to do so, declaring that it was 
necessary that every military man should be satisfied with the 
situation which in the course of his duty, fell to his lot. 

Under these circumstances. General Harrison prepared to go 
into winter quarters at the Rapids. He accordingly selected a 
good position on the south side of the river, which he strongly 
fortified, and called Camp Meigs, in honour of the patriotic 
Governor of Ohio. Leaving the army at that station, he pro- 
ceeded to Cincinnati, to procure reinforcements of men, and sup- 
plies of provisions and military stores. 

We should here mention, that, while engaged in the various 
and arduous services of this campaign, General Harrison organ- 
ized several distinct expeditions against the Indian towns, to 
keep the hostile savages in check, and protect our extended 
frontier. One of these expeditions, consisting of a detachment 
of six hundred men, under the command of Colonel Campbell, 
was sent against the towns on the Mississineway, from which 
our scattered settlements had suffered much annoyance. This 
enterprise was conducted with great skill, and proved signally 
successful. The principal town was attacked in the most gal- 
lant manner, and, after a desperate action of more than an hour, 
was carried at the point of the bayonet. From the general 
order issued by Harrison, on the return of this expedition, we 
make the following extract, which will convey some idea of the 
humane and generous feelings that have always characterized 
both his public and private conduct. After awarding these 
gallant troops the high meed of praise which their bravery had 
won, he goes on to say: — "But the character of this gallant 
detachment, exhibiting as it did, perseverance, fortitude and 
bravery, would, however, be incomplete, if in the midst of vie 



52 



THE LIFE OF 



tory they had forgotten the feehngs of humanity. It is with 
the sincerest pleasure that the General has heard that the most 
punctual obedience was paid to his orders, in not only saving 
all the women and children, but in sparing all the warriors who 
ceased to resist ; and that even when vigorously attacked by 
the enemy, the claims of mercy prevailed over every sense of 
their own danger, and this heroic band respected the lives of 
their prisoners. Let an account of murdered innocence be opened 
in the records of heaven against our enemies alone. The Ameri- 
can soldier will follow the example of his government ; and the 
sword of the one will not be raised against the fallen and help- 
less, nor the gold of the other be paid for the scalps of a mas 
sacred enemy." What a contrast do these noble sentiments 
present to the atrocious conduct of the British General, Proctor, 
who, at the cruel massacre at Raisin river, and at the Rapids, 
basely permitted unresisting prisoners of war to be unsparingly 
butchered by his savage and remorseless allies ! 

The pride of Kentucky fell in the massacre of the Raisin ; 
and so wide- spread was' the woe, that there was scarcely a 
family in the state that did not mourn a butchered friend or 
relative. The temper of the American people seldom yields^ 
long to useless lamentation ; grief was succeeded by indigna- 
tion ; and the very day after that on which the news of this 
inhuman slaughter was received at Frankfort, the Governor 
signed a bill to raise three thousand volunteers for the army. 
The Legislature proposed a resolution requesting the Executive 
(Governor Shelby) to take command of the forces of the state 
in person, whenever he should deem it necessary. Instead of 
fabricating the weeds of mourning, the mothers and sisters of 
the slain, shaped out the tents and wove together the stars and 
stripes, for this new band of patriot warriors. 

Early in the spring, intelligence was received that the British 
were making extensive preparations, and concentrating a large 
force of regular soldiers, Canadians and Indians, to besiege Fort 
Meigs. On obtaining this information, General Harrison hast- 
ened to his camp, and exerted the most strenuous efforts to 
prepare for the threatened attack of the enemy. His presence 
cheered the troops, and he inspired them with fresh ardour by 
an eloquent address, in which he alluded modestly, but in the 



GENERAL HARRISON. 53 

most animating manner, to the neighbouring battle-field, where 
General Wayne had gained the brilliant victory of the Mau- 
MEE Rapids, and where he himself had won the brightest of 
his earlier laurels. 

At this time the garrison of Fort Meigs was much reduced 
in numbers, and the period for which those who still remained 
had enlisted, was about to expire. General Harrison therefore 
looked with great anxiety for the arrival of the strong rein- 
forcement of Kentucky troops, who were approaching with all 
possible despatch under General Clay ; but whose march had 
been greatly impeded by the wretched condition of the roads. 

On the morning of the 2Sth of April, the scouts brought in 
intelligence of the near advance of the enemy. And soon 
after, on the same day, the British troops were discovered from 
the fort, ascending the river in vessels and boats, while the In- 
dians, in strong force, were seen approaching, at the same time, 
by land. The British disembarked and encamped at the old 
station on the Maumee, nearly two miles below Fort Meigs ; 
and on the night after they landed, they commenced the con- 
struction of three powerful batteries, on the north side of the 
river, directly opposite our camp. 

It was on this occasion that General Harrison resorted 
to a measure of defence which, while it displayed in a new 
light his transcendent military genius, in its success has been 
rarely equalled, and was not surpassed by that of the gallant 
Jackson with the cotton bags of New Orleans. 

Whilst the British were busy in constructing their forts, Har- 
rison had moved all the tents of the army to the side of the 
Fort next to them, thus forming a screen to his operations 
within the works. Behind these tents he threw up a traverse 
or bank of earth, twelve feet high, and twenty feet wide at 
the base, in such a manner as to form the most perfect protec- 
tion to the garrison against the enemy's guns. The tents con- 
cealing the embankment, the British were unapprized of its 
existence. On the 30th of May, the enemy's batteries being 
completed, preparations were made for bombarding. Their 
troops were beat to quarters, the guns loaded, the fusees lighted, 
the want of the word "Fire," alone suspended the attack. 
At this )r/iient Harrison gave orders to "Strike the tents." 

e2 



54 THE LIFE OF 

It was done in an instant, and Proctor \vas thus taught how 
fruitless had been all his labour, when opposed by the superior 

SAGACITY AND GENERALSHIP OF HarRISON. Not a man 

not a tent could he behold, nothing but a high shield of earth, 
and McAfee observes, " the prospect of smoking them outy 
which the British had threatened to do, was very faint /" 

Colonel McKune, of Ohio, a veteran of the last war, 
states that, 

« In the first attack by the British upon Fort Meigs, the Americans fought out- 
side the fort. I commanded at one of the gates of the fort, and personally helped 
General Harrison over the pickets, and saw him commanding his men in person 
and on foot, regardless of the most imminent danger." 

Proctor, however, resolved to hear the music of his guns, 
and accordingly opened a heavy fire on the Fort. So perfect 
was Harrison's defence, that although he endured this attack 
for eight days, he lost only two men. The army of Harrison 
amounted to about a thousand men, while the enemy's force 
comprised six hundred regulars, eight hundred Canadian mili- 
tia and eighteen hundred Indians. During the first three days 
the fire of the enemy was incessant and tremendous. Five 
and eight inch shells and twenty-four pound shot fell in show- 
ers in the camp.* 

On the 3d of April, Proctor's men appeared to work un- 
willingly, and Harrison's troops repeatedly mounted the ram- 
parts, AND cheered them ON ! This was almost the only 
return they could make for their favours, as our troops were 
almost destitute of ammunition. 

Harrison was often seen upon the ramparts, sword in hand, 
and the shot falling around him, to use the words of one who 
served under him, " as thickly as hail," pointing the cannon 
and defying the enemy. 

It is worthy of remark, that on the second day of the attack, 
Proctor sent an officer with a flag, to demand the surrender of 
the post. The grounds of this demand were, that the Ameri- 
can force was too iveak to defend the works against the over 
whel7ni7ig numbers of the besiegers, and that General Proctor 
was anxious to save the effusion of blood ! The intrepid Har- 
rison promptly replied : 

* McAfee, p. 203. 



GENERAL HARRISON. 55 

" If General Proctor knows the usages of war, as I am bound to believe he does, 
he must either have considered me ignorant of them, or he must have intended an 
insult. It was his duty to make the demand before he commenced firing on the 
works. But, sir, said he, go back and tell your General that I know my own force, 
and his, and that I shall defend the works to the last extremity. Tell him farther, 

THAT IF HE EVER POSSESSES THE FoET, HE SHALL OBTAIN IT IN A WAT THAT 
"WILL LIVE HIM MORE HONOUR IN THE ESTIMATION OF HIS GOVERNMENT,^ 
THAN HE CODID PEHIVE FROM A THOrSAND SURRENDERS !" 

Another incident is also worthy of notice : After the enemy- 
had retired, a number of the Indians who had left them came 
into the fort and stated that a contract had been entered into 
between Proctor and Tecumseh, that as soon as the fort surren- 
dered, which they considered inevitable, Harrison should be 
given up to the Indians, to be disposed of as they might see 
proper. Harrison replied; 

" Then General Proctor can be neither a soldier nor a man. But if it shall ever 
be his fate to surrender to me, his life shall be protected, but I will dress him in a 
petticoat, and deliver him over to the squaws, as being unworthy to associate with 
men." 

On this story was founded an infamous slander on General 
Harrison, and a base insult to the ladies of Chilicothe, fabricated 
by a person whose name we will not stoop to mention. 

Colonel Wood remarks, 

"With a plenty of ammunition, we should have been able to blow John Bull 
almost from the Miami. It was extremely diverting to see with what pleasure and 
delight the Indians would yell, whenever, in their opinion, considerable damage was 
done in the camp by the bursting of a shell. Their hanging about camp, and occa- * 
sionally pretty near, kept our lines almost constantly in a blaze of fire ; for nothing 
can please a Kentuckian better than to get a shot at an Indian ; and they must be 
indulged." 

During the night, the approach of General Clay on the river, 
with twelve hundred Kentuckians, was announced to General 
Harrison. He immediately despatched Captain Hamilton with 
orders to Clay, directing him to divide his corps and to send eight 
hundred men to the west side of the river, to get possession of 
the enemy's batteries. The remainder were to land on the 
east side, and fight their way into the fort. It was Harrison's 
intention to destroy the British fort on the south side, whilst 
Clay was cutting his way through the Indians. 

The troops to whom was confided the duty of cairying the 
enemy's batteries on the west side of the river, were commanded 
by Dudley. By the swiftness of the current, General Clay was 



56 THELIFEOF 

separated from his command. Colonel Boswell, at the head of 
this division, landed, formed and attacked the enemy. General 
Harrison, who stood on a battery exposed to the fire of the 
enemy watching their operations, observing an effort on the 
part of the Indians to gain his flank, resolved on a sortie from 
the garrison, to relieve him and carry the batteries on that side 
of the river. The forces for this purpose were placed under 
the command of Colonel Miller, who, with Major Todd, says 
McAfee, "led on his command with the most determined 
bravery, charged upon the British, and drove them from their 
batteries ; spiked their cannon, and took forty-one prisoners, 
including an officer; having completely beaten and driven back 
the whole force of the enemy. That force consisted of two 
hundred British regulars, one hundred and fifty Canadians, and 
five hundred Indians; being considerably more than double the 
force of the brave detachment that attacked them : but our 
troops charged with such irresistible impetuosity that nothing 
could withstand them." 

In no instance during the war was there harder fighting than 
in this brilliant sortie. It lasted but forty-five minutes, during 
which one hundred and eighty men were killed and wounded 
on our side. 

In the mean time Dudley had gained the opposite shore, and 
approached the batteries erected there. When about three 
hundred yards from them, the troops could no longer be 
restrained, but, with a yell, rushed on to the attack, charging 
the batteries "at full speed." The enemy, panic stricken, 
abandoned the forts and fled, leaving them an easy prey in the 
hands of the gallant Kentuckians, who at once pulled down the 
British flag. The troops under Dudley were mostly raw mili- 
tia, brave, hardy and enterprising, but destitute of discipline. 
After taking the forts, they amused themselves with examining 
the defences, instead of destroying them. Harrison, observing 
this, repeatedly called to them to retire, and come into the fort. 
Unfortunately they neglected his warning. The Indians and 
British reinforced, returned, and in an hour their fate v/as 
decided. They nearly all fell or were taken prisoners. Death 
was the easier fate of the two. Some of them were shot by 
the Indians. " Those/' says Colonel Wood, " who preferred to 



GENERAL HARRISON. 57 

inflict a still more cruel and savage death, selected their victims, 
and led them to the gateway, and there, under the eye of Gene- 
ral Proctor, and in the presence of the whole British army, 
tomahawked and scalped themP This horrid work of de- 
struction continued until the arrival of Tecumseh from the 
batteries. No sooner did the savage warrior behold the mas- 
sacre, than he exclaimed, " for shame ! it is a disgrace to kill a 
defenceless prisoner ;" and stopped the carnage. 

After the close of the action of the 6th, Proctor formally 
summoned Harrison to surrender; which request the latter 
declined with indignant contempt. Proctor finding Harrison 
unwilling to be either cajoled or beaten into submission, 
resolved to quit so unaccommodating a foe ; and accordingly 
he decamped on the 8th, retreating with disappointment and 
disgrace, leaving Harrison in full possession of the field of 
battle. Harrison then repaired to Cleveland and Lower San- 
dusky, to put those places in a state of defence ; and shortly 
after set out for the interior, leaving General Clay in command 
of Fort Meigs.* 

The defence of Fort Meigs was one of the most admirably 
conducted and brilliant efforts of skill and valour united, that is 
recorded in the annals of military operations. It was not less 
distinguished by the personal courage of the commander and 
his troops, than their rare fortitude, perseverance and skill. In 
itself, it conferred immortal honour on Harrison, and gave him 
an additional hold on the affections and confidence of the West, 
the admiration of the country and the applause of the govern- 
ment. 

* See 5th Niles's Register. 



58 THE LIFE OF 



CHAPTER V. 

Successful efforts of Harrison for the construction of a fleet on the Lakes — Second 
attack on Fort Meigs — The enemy retreat — They assail Fort Stephenson, and are 
repulsed by the garrison — Slanders against Harrison — His triumphant vindication — 
Preparations for the reduction of Maiden — Perry's victory — Harrison embarks his 
army for Canada — Takes possession of Maiden — Harrison pursues Proctor — 
Battle and victory at the Thames — Brilliant conduct of Harrison — Death of Te- 
cumseh — Testimony in favour of Harrison — Langdon Cheves — James Madison — 
Simon Snyder — Resolution of Congress — Thomas Eitchie. 

We have already stated that General Harrison had suggested 
to Mr. Madison, the construction of a fleet on the Lakes, to 
co-operate with the army under his command. In his letters 
to the War Department he had repeatedly urged the great im- 
portance of obtaining the command of Lake Erie, and of the 
immediate necessity of creating a navy for that purpose. In 
one of his communications he remarked — 

" Should our offensive operations be suspended until spring, it is my decided 
opinion that the cheapest and most effectual plan will be to obtain command of Lake 
Erie. This being once effected, every difficulty will be removed. An army of four 
thousand men, landed on the North side of the lake, below Maiden, will soon reduce 
that place, retake Detroit, and, with the aid of the fleet, proceed down the lake to 
co-operate with the army from Niagara." 

In several subsequent letters, he again strenuously urged his 
plan of a Fleet on the Lakes, until the government were 
at length convinced of the importance of the measure. Being 
founded on a practical knowledge of the condition and re- 
quirements of the frontier, the suggestion of this remarkable 
man, prevailed over the government, and Mr. Madison author- 
ised the equipment of a fleet by the immortal Perry, under 
THE command of General Harrison. ■ No effort of activity 
or skill was spared to hasten the completion and equipment of 
the vessels, and early in August, Commodore Perry had the 
satisfaction of finding that he had a fleet fitted for sea, and 
ready for action, nearly equal in force to that of the enemy. 

In the mean time Harrison was engaged in the interior, pro- 
secuting his various and arduous duties and preparing to repel 



GENERAL HARRISON. 59 

a second attack on Fort Meigs, which he learned on reaching 
Frankhnton, was contemplated by the combined British and 
Indian forces. The unceasing efforts of the British, and the 
restless spirit of Tecumseh, allowed our troops bnt little time 
to recover from their severe fatigues. In less than two months 
after the siege of Fort Meigs, the Indians assembled a formi- 
dable body of more than five thousand warriors, under their 
most noted chiefs, and again threatened an attack on that fort- 
ress. On receiving this intelligence, General Harrison instantly 
repaired to its succour, by forced marches, with three hundred 
men, and fortunately arrived there before the enemy. Leaving 
a reinforcement with General Clay, he returned without delay to 
his more active duties. ' 

Just before General Harrison was called to Fort Meigs by 
the impending attack, he held a council at Frankhnton, with 
the chiefs of the friendly Indians, consisting of the Delaware, 
Shawanoese, Wyandot, and Seneca tribes. He informed them 
that circumstances had come to his knowledge which induced 
him to suspect che fidelity of some of the tribes, who seemed 
disposed to join the enemy in case they succeeded in capturing 
Fort Meigs — that a crisis had arrived, which required all the 
tribes who were then neutral, but were willing to engage in 
the war, to take a decided stand either for us or against us. 
He told them that the President wanted no false friends — that 
the proposal of General Proctor to exchange the Kentucky 
militia who were his prisoners, for the tribes in our friendship, 
seemed to indicate that he had received some hint of their 
willingness to take up the tomahawk against us. He informed 
them that to afford the United States a proof of their good 
disposition, they must either remove with their families into the 
interior, or the warriors must accompany him in the ensuing 
campaign, and fight for the liberties of the United States. To 
the latter proposition the chiefs and warriors unanimously 
agreed. They said they had long been anxious for an invitation to 
fight for the Americans. Tahe, the oldest Indian in the western 
country, who represented all the tribes, professed in their name 
the most indissoluble friendship for the United States. General 
Harrison then told them that he would give them the earliest 
information when they would be wanted in the service; "but," 



60 THE LIFE OF 

said he, " you must conform to our mode of warfare. You are 
not to kill defenceless prisoners, old men, women or children.'''' 
He added, that by their conduct he would be able to determine 
whether the British could restrain their Indians from such hor- 
rible atrocities as they were in the practice of committing. For 
if the Indians fighting with him would forbear from the perpe- 
tration of such cruelty, it would prove that Proctor could re- 
strain his, if he desired to do so. He humorously told them 
that he had been informed that General Proctor had promised 
to deliver him into the hands of Tecumseh, if he succeeded 
against Fort Meigs, to be treated as that warrior might think 
proper. " Now if I can succeed in taking Proctor," he added, 
"you shall have him for your prisoner, provided you will 
agree to treat him as a squaiv, and only put petticoats upon 
him ; for he must be a coward who would kill a defenceless 
prisoner !" 

During the whole of this laborious and perilous campaign, 
the vigilance and intrepidity of General Harrison, with the 
bravery of his soldiers, enabled him to keep a far superior 
force of the enemy in check, and to protect the wide extent of 
our exposed frontier. Our forts were ably defended, and our 
troops gallantly repelled every attack of the enemy, except in 
some few instances, when they were assailed by an over- 
whelming force. 

Shortly after General Harrison had gone to the aid of Fort 
Meigs, he placed Major Croghan, with one hundred and sixty 
men, at Fort Stephenson, a temporary depot at Lower San- 
dusky, and established his head-qaarters at Seneca, nine miles 
lower down on the Sandusky river. From this place, chosen 
with peculiar judgment, he could either protect Upper San- 
dusky, or cut his way into Fort Meigs, as occasion might 
require. Fort Stephenson, in command of Croghan, was a 
mere out-post, and not considered worthy of much exertion. 
Indeed it never would have been heard of, but for the heroic 
gallantry of the youthful hero whom Harrison, with his 
usual sagacity, had placed in command of it. 

In the month of July, the British under Proctor and Dickson, 
and the "allies" under Tecumseh, appeared before Fort 
Meigs, to the number of five thousand. They remained there 



GENERAL HARRISON. 61 

without any active operations until the 28th, when they aban- 
doned Fort JNIeigs and moved down by the lake to Lower San- 
dusky. The post of Fort Stephenson had been unmumovsly 
declared worthless and untenable, by a council of officers, of 
which the Hon. Lewis Cass, late Secretary of War, and 
General McArthur were members.* Accordingly Croghan 
had been ordered to set fire to it and march to head-quarters, 
before the enemy could reach it. This order, however, was not 
received by Major Croghan, in consequence of Mr. Connor and 
the Indians, by whom it was sent, getting lost in the woods, 
until the fort was surrounded by Indians, and retreat rendered 
impossible. Croghan then addressed the following note to 
Harrison : 

"Sir, — I have received yours of yesterday, ten o'clock, p.m., ordering me to 
destroy this place and retreat, which was received too late to be carried into execu- 
tion. We have determined to maintain this place ,• and by Heavens, we can." 

This note was written with the expectation that it would be 
intercepted by the enemy, and was designed to leave on them 
an impression of his strength. Harrison, not knowing this, 
regarded it as a refusal to obey, and accordingly on the evening 
of the 31st of July, he sent Colonel Wehs to Fort Stephenson 
with a squadron of dragoons, to supersede Croghan and send 
him to head-quarters. When Croghan arrived and made this 
explanation, the General, pleased with the good policy which 
he exhibited, instantly reinstated him, with orders to evacuate 
the fort as soon as he safely could. The next day, the enemy, 
under Proctor, landed and summoned the post to surrender; at 
the same time humanely informing the besieged that if they did 
not, the fort should be stormed and themselves given up to the 
tomahawk and scalping-knife ! Dickson, in person, accompa- 
nied the flag which bore the summons, and was met by Ensign 
Shipp on the part of the garrison. Dickson begged Shipp to 
surrender for God's sake, as in the event of Proctor's taking 
the fort, they would all be massacred. Shipp replied, " that 
ivhen the fort was taken there would he none left to vias- 
sacre.'^ At this juncture an Indian came up to Shipp and 
endeavoured to wrest his sword from him. Shipp drew it on 

* McAfee's History of the Last War, p. 322. 

F 



62 THE LIFE OF 

him and was about despatching him, when Dickson interposed 
and restrained the savage. Croghan, who had been standing 
on the ramparts, and had observed the insult offered to Shipp, 
called to him, ^^ Shipp, come in, and we'' II blow them all to 
hell.'''' Shipp went in, bidding Dickson "good-bye." The 
cannonading then commenced, and in twenty-four hours up- 
wards of five hundred shot struck the works, though with 
little effect. 

Croghan had but one piece of artillery, a six-pounder, which 
by his order was removed to the block-house and loaded with 
musket balls. On the evening of the next day the enemy deter- 
mined to carry the works by storm. They advanced in two 
columns; one led on by Lieutenant-Colonel Short, the other by 
Colonel Chambers. Under cover of the smoke of the fort, the 
men advanced until they came to the ditch, where they paused. 
Colonel Short rallied them, crying out to push on, "and give 
the damned Yankees no quarters." The six-pounder, v/hich 
had been placed at a masked embrasure in the block-house, at 
thirty feet distance from them, now opened, pouring death and 
destruction among them. Of those in the ditch few escaped. 
A precipitate retreat commenced. The column under Colonel 
Chambers was also routed by a severe fire from Captain Hunt- 
er's line ; and the whole fled into an adjoining wood. Lieu- 
tenant Short and twenty-five privates were left dead in the 
ditch, and twenty-six were afterwards taken prisoners. The 
total loss of the enemy was one hundred and fifty killed and 
wounded. When night came on, the wounded in the ditch 
suffered indescribably. Croghan conveyed them water over 
the pickets, and opened a ditch through the ramparts, by which 
they were invited to enter the fort. Let the reader compare 
this act of magnanimity with the conduct of Proctor at the 
river Raisin ! 

In the night the combined force of the "allies" commenced 
a rapid and disorderly retreat, leaving part of their baggage 
and wounded behind them. For his act of gallantry on this 
occasion, Croghan was promoted to the rank of Brevet Lieu- 
tenant-Colonel. 

Shortly after the retreat of Proctor, he sent a flag with his 
surgeon, Dr. Banner, to inquire into the condition of the 



GENERAL HARRISON. 63 

wounded. After an examination of them, the doctor expressed 
himself highly gratified with the tenderness and skill with 
which they had been treated. When introduced to Croghan, 
he could not but express his astonishment that such a post had 
been held in such a manner by such a boy. 

It appears to be the invariable fortune of great men to be 
libelled. Even Washington, the Father of his Country, was 
calumniated and denounced. Jefferson was opprobriously stig- 
ma,tised, and every act of his career tortured to suit the base 
purposes of faction. Simon Snyder, the Father of Democracy 
in Pennsylvania, was accused even of theft, and are we to be 
surprised that the great and good Harrison has not been exempt 
from the stings of malice and falsehood? These reflections 
are awakened by a recollection of the flagrant injustice which 
has been attempted against General Harrison, by some of his 
political enemies, in the grossest misrepresentations in reference 
to the defence of Fort Stephenson. This has been ventured, 
upon the presumption of the ignorance of the public in regard 
to the events of that period. A simple statement, founded on facts 
which NONE CAN QUESTION, wiU put thcsc slanderers to flight. 

At the date of the attack on Fort Stephenson, the enemy 
had nearly seven thousand men in the field — two thousand of 
whom were British regulars and Canadians, and the remainder 
were warriors of the fiercest Indian tribes. The army under 
General Harrison was greatly inferior in numbers, and it be- 
came his duty, as a skilful commander, to withdraw his unim- 
portant outposts, to avoid risking unnecessarily the loss of a 
single soldier, and to enable him, by concentrating his forces, to 
hold the enemy in check, at least, if he should not prove strong 
enough to give him battle. Fort Stephenson was a temporary 
and unimportant station, and so commanded by the high ground 
in its neighbourhood, as to be utterly indefensible against heavy 
artillery — and such, from their command of the lake, the British 
could easily transport to its attack. Fully aware of this, from 
having reconnoitered the ground in person, General Harrison, 
on learning that this station was about to be assailed, thought 
it expedient to withdraw the garrison of Fort Stephenson. 
The order which was accordingly sent to Croghan, the con- 
demnation of the Fort by a Council of Officers, as worthless 



64 THELIFEOF 

and untenable, the reason why Croghan could not obey the 
order, and the subsequent result, have been already detailed. 

The gallant defence of a position which General Harrison 
had ordered to be abandoned, with the unanimous approbation 
of a Council of his Officers, was seized upon by the malicious 
among his political opponents, who industriously circulated the 
falsest statements and most unfounded cliarges in relation to it. 
But fortunately the plain truth soon became so well known, 
that his fair fame suffered no injury from the unfounded calum- 
nies. So many gallant officers bore witness of their own ac- 
cord, to the military foresight and wisdom of his measures, 
that no slander which even the malice of his calumniators could 
devise, ever darkened for a moment his vmsullied reputation. 

The following short extracts are from an address to the pub- 
lic, relative to this affiiir, which was voluntarily published by 
the general, field, and staft-officers of General Harrison's army; 
among whom were Col. Cass, late Secretary of War, General 
Wells and others scarcely less distinguished in the army and 
the councils of their country. After expressing their 

" Regret and surprise, that charges, as improper in form as in substance, should 
have been made against General Harrison, during the recent investment of Lower 
Sandusky, 

they go on to say : — 

" On a review of the course then adopted, we are decidedly of the opinion, that it 
was such as was dictated by military wisdom, and by a due regard to our circum- 
stances and to the situation of the enemy. And with a ready acquiescence, beyond 
the mere claims of military duty, we are prepared to obey a general, whose measures 
meet our most deliberate approbation, and merit that of his country.'" 

The chivalrous and noble-spirited Croghan, who was one 
of the signers of the above address, about the same time pub- 
lished another paper on this subject, dated from Lower San- 
dusky, in which he says : — 

" I have with much regret seen in some of the public prints such misrepresentations 
respecting my refusal to evacuate this post, as are not only calculated to injure me in 
the estimation of military men, but also to excite unfavourable impressions as to the 
propriety of General Harrison's conduct relative to this affair. 

" His character as a military man is too well established to need my approbation 
or support. But his public service entitles him at least to common justice. This 
affair does not furnish cause of reproach. If public opinion has been lately misled 
respecting his late conduct, it will require but a moment's cool, dispasionate reflection, 
to convince them of its propriety. The measuren recently adopted by him, so far 
from deserving censure, are the clearest proof s of his penett-ution and able generalship 



GENERAL HARRISON. 65 

"•It is true that I did not proceed immediately to execute his orders to evacuate 
this fort, but this disobedience was not (as aome would wish to believe) the result of 
a fixed determination to maintain the post contrary to his most positive order. 

" I desire no plaudits which are bestowed upon me at the expense of General 
Harrison. 

" / have felt the warmest attachment for him as a man, and my confidence iti 
him as an able comm,ander remains unshaken, I shall not hesitate to unite with 
the array in bestowing upon him that confidence which he so richly merits, and 
which has on no occasion been withheld."* 

We have dwelt on this passage in the life of General Har- 
rison, somewhat longer than is consistent with the brevity of 
this sketch; but the political opponents of General Harrison 
can find so few points in his whole life that afford them the 
slightest apology for censure, that they have been driven to 
pervert and misrepresent an affair of so simple a nature as this, 
and one that in truth entitled him, as the gallant Croghan 
justly says, "/<? the highest commendation.''^ We have there- 
fore thought it no more than common justice to him, and to 
our readers, to lay before them this plain exposition of facts. 
The wisest and best actions are often misunderstood or perverted 
by the ignorant or malicious. We trust and believe that the 
former constitute the larger portion of those who" have sought 
to shadow the fair fame of General Harrison; but while meart 
and sordid spirits exist, envy and detraction will always pursue 
exalted merit. 

At last, disappointed in their hopes of plunder, and dispirited 
by the numerous defeats they had sustained, the savage allies 
of the British became discontented. The second siege of Fort 
Meigs had been abandoned, when the enemy learned that Har- 
rison had prepared to give them a warm reception; and gradu- 
ally the Indians and their white associates entirely withdrew 
from our territory. They soon after concentrated their forces 
at Maiden, their principal stronghold in Upper Canada. It 
will thus be seen that the skill and triumphant gallantry with 
which General Harrison had conducted his defensive opera- 
tions — the only resources left him in the face of a foe far supe- 
rior to his forces in point of numbers and discipline — had not 
only protected our widely extended frontier, but had eventually 

• Weekly Aurora, vol. iv. p. 160. 
9 f2 



6!5 THE LIFE OF 

compelled the enemy to leave our soil, mortified and humbled 
by frequent defeats. 

The activity and enterprise of Harrison did not long permit 
the enemy to rest in security, even after they had retreated from 
our territory. He immediately commenced preparations for 
carrying the war into their own country, and formed a bold 
project for the capture of Maiden, and the conquest of Upper 
Canada. 

On the 20th of July, Harrison was informed that the naval 
armament, which had been built under Perry's superintendence, 
was prepared to co-operate with him in the reduction of Mai- 
den. With a view to this, he wrote to Governor Shelby of 
Kentucky, earnestly soliciting a body of militia, not less than 
four hundred nor more than two thousand ; and requesting 
that he would accompany them in person. Old Kentucky 
responded instantly to the call, and Governor Shelby, the hero 
of King's Mountain, took command of the forces, fifteen hun- 
dred strong, among which were Colonel Johnson's regiment of 
mounted men. 

We cannot refrain from introducing the following extract of 
a letter written about this time to General Harrison, by Colonel 
Richard M. Johnson, now Vice-President of the United States, 
as illustrative of the ardour of the people of the West to serve 
under the command of one who they knew would lead them 
to victory. It is dated at Lower Sandusky, July 4th, 1S13,* 
and was sent for the purpose of apprizing General Harrison 
that its writer and the brave Kentuckians under his command, 
had arrived and were waiting his orders. 

" To be ready," says Colonel Johnson, " to move with Tor, to Detroit and 
Canada, against the enemies of our country, is the first wish of our hearts. Two 
great objects induced us to come : first, to be at the regaining of our own territory and 
Detroit, and at the taking of Maiden ; and secondly, to serve under an officer in 
whom we have confidence. We would not have engaged in the service without such 
a prospect, when we recollected what disasters have attended us for the want of good 
generals. We did not want to serve under cowards, drunkards, old grannies, nor 
traitors, but under one who had proved himself to be wise, prudent, and 
BRAVE. The officers of the mounted regiment had some idea of addressing you on 
their anxiety to be a part of your army in the campaign against Canada, and of giving 
\ou a statement of the importance of having an opportunity to make the regimen! 



• McAfee's History of the Last War, p. 310. 



GENERAL HARRISON. 67 

efficient for such a campaign by recruiting their horses. My enemies, your enemies, 
the enemies of our cause, would exult if the mounted regiment should from any cause 
be unable to carry a strong arm against the savages and British, whex tou strike 
THE GRAND BLOW. It Is with much diffidence I write you any thing touching mili- 
tary matters. In the morning we shall leave this place for Huron, ready to receive 
your orders, lohich will always be cheerfully executed at every hazard." 

On the 2d of August, Perry got his fleet over the bar at the 
mouth of the harbour, and proceeded to Sandusky to receive 
orders from Harrison. Harrison commanded him to advance 
at once to Maiden, and to bring the enemy to battle, as it was 
apprehended the British commander was waiting for an oppor- 
tunity of attacking our fleet whilst engaged in transporting the 
troops to Canada. Harrison, confident in the result of any 
engagement which might occur, placed the army in a state 
for instant embarkation. On the 12th, in writing to Gov- 
ernor Shelby, he observes, " Our fleet has undoubtedly met 
that of the enemy. The day before yesterday a tremendous 
and incessant cannoiiade was heard in the direction of Maiden; 
it lasted two hours: I am all anxiety for the event." Within 
half an hour after writing the above, Harrison received a letter 
from Perry, which ran as follows : 

" v. S. Brig Niagara, off the "Western Sister, dj-c. ') 
September lOih, 1813. 4 p. m. 3 
"Deah General, — We have met the enemy, and they are ours — two ships, two 
brigs, one schooner and a sloop. 

" Yours with great respect and esteem, 

" Oliver Hazard Pbkrt. 
" Geit. W. H. HARRisoiir." 

We will not attempt a description of the feelings which 
this news excited at Seneca and Lower Sandusky. McAfee re- 
marks that it set both camps " in an uproar of tumultuous joy* 

Orders were immediately given by General Harrison to pre- 
pare for embarkation, and the transportation of the provisions, 
military stores, &c. to the margin of the lake. The troops were 

• The following extract of another letter from the immortal Perry to General 
Harrison, will show that while our country is indebted to Harrison for its most 
brilliant victories on land, it owes him an eternal debt of gratitude for its naval glory. 

" The very great assistance in the action of the lOlh derived from those men you 
were pleased to send on board the squadron, renders it a duty to return you my 
sincere thanks for so timely a reinforcement. In fact, sir, I mat sat, without 

THOSE MEN THE V1CT9HT COULD NOT HAT£ BEEN ACHIEYED." NiUi Register, 

vol. 5th, p. 20. 



68 THELIFEOF 

mustered, formed, and those in the rear traversed the swamps 
at the rate of thirty miles per day, until they reached head 
quarters on the Lake. From the 16th of September, 1813, to 
the 24th of the same month, Harrison had the troops and pro- 
visions all transported to the place of rendezvous, Put-in-bay, 
and on the 24th sailed with Commodore Perry to reconnoitre 
Maiden, and immediately on his return issued orders for the 
embarkation of the army. Previous to this he issued an ad- 
dress to the army, of the most manly and spirited kind, in 
which he admonishes them against excesses in the liour of 
victory. "RemexMBer," said he, "the River Raisin, but re- 
member IT ONLY WHILST VICTORY IS SUSPENDED. ThE RE- 
VENGE OF A SOLDIER CANNOT BE GRATIFIED ON A FALLEN 
ENEMY." 

On the 27th, the army embarked and landed in Canada, 
eager to encounter the enemy, but lo ! no enemy could be 
found. Maiden was in ruins ; the Fort and works were a 
mass of mouldering ashes. The gallant, humane, and oft- 
whipped Hero of the River Raisin and Fort Meigs, had mo- 
destly withdrawn before the Hero of Tippecanoe, against the 
urgent remonstrances of Tecumseh. This gallant warrior, in 
an address to Proctor, made at this time, said : — "Father, we see 
you are drawing back, and we are sorry to see our father doing 
so without seeing the enemy. We must compare our father's 
conduct to a fat dog, that carries its tail upon its back, but 
when affrighted drops it between its legs and runs off!"* Our 
troops encamped without opposition, on the site of Maiden, the 
former head quarters of the enemy, and took possession of 
that fortress from which had issued, for years past, those ruth- 
less bands of savages, which had swept over our extended 
frontier, scattering the mangled bodies of thousands of unre- 
sisting victims in their path. Harrison issued general orders 
for the protection of the people of Canada, in which he com- 
manded their persons and property to be respected. This 
measure, so characteristic of General Harrison's justice and 
humanity, inspired the terrified and flying Canadians with con- 
fidence in the Americans. — They had felt the friendly spolia- 
tions of Proctor, and concluded that the track of the hostile 

* McAfee's History of the Last War. 



GENERAL HARRISON. 69 

Americans, would be marked with ruin and desolation; being 
undeceived, they returned to their homes, which they continued 
to occupy unmolested, to the close of the war. On the 1st of 
October General Harrison proposed to a Council of Officers, 
a plan for the pursuit of Proctor, which was unanimously 
approved of. Our limits will not permit us to follow the army 
through this march, and we will therefore come at once to a 
description of the celebrated Battle of the Thames, one of the 
most glorious and decisive actions fought during the war. 

On the 5th of October, 1S13, our army came up with the 
British and Indians under Proctor. The latter finding it im- 
possible to escape from Harrison by flight, resolved to place 
his dependence for safety on the much vaunted valour and dis- 
cipline of British regulars, and had drawn up his army in battle 
array on the bank of the River Thames, in a position admirably 
calculated for resistance. His right flank was covered by a 
swamp, deemed impassable ; his left by the river Thames, and 
supported by artillery. The Indians, two tliousand in number, 
were posted beyond the swamp on the right of the British re- 
gulars, and were commanded by Tecumseh in person. 

General Harrison drew up one division of his infantry, in a 
double line reaching from the river to the swamp, opposite 
Proctor's troops, and the other division at right angles to the 
first, with its front extending along the swamp. This disposi- 
tion of the troops was made whh a view of preventing the 
Indians from turning his left flank and attacking him in 
the rear. The mounted regiment under Colonel Johnson 
was placed in front of the infantry. Governor Shelby, of 
Kentucky, was directed to take his position at the angle be- 
tween the swamp, which was considered a very important 
point in these arrangements for the contest. General Harrison 
^'placed himself at the head of the front line.''* When 
Perry, who served as his aid-de-camp, kindly, remonstrated 
with him on the exposure of his person, he intrepidly replied 
" that it was necessary that a General should set the ex- 
ample!'' 

General Harrison had scarcely issued these orders for the 



• McAfee's History of the Last War, p. 390. 



70 THELIFEOF 

formation of the troops, and for them to advance, when his 
eagle eye caught the enemy's order of battle. They had 
formed in open column, that is with the space of five feet be- 
tween the ranks. He appreciated at once the egregious blunder 
which Proctor had committed, and determined to avail himself 
of it. With surpassing quickness he changed his order of at- 
tack, and resolved to try the effect of a charge of the mounted 
men, a manoeuvre entirely his own, and for which no prece- 
dent can be found in the annals of military tactics. Of its 
effect he had no doubt, from a knowledge of the fact that 
troops formed in open order could not resist, for an instant, a 
vigorous charge of cavalry.* He therefore directed them,t says 
the historian of the western war, who was an eye-witness of 
the scene, " to be formed in two charging columns, and on re- 
ceiving their (the enemy's) fire, to charge through their ranks^ 
and act as circumstances might require." 

On forming the mounted regiment, it was discovered that 
only one battalion of it could act efficiently against the British 
regulars. This battalion under the command of Lieutenant 
Colonel James Johnson,^ advanced to the attack of Proctor's 
army. Before they had come near enough to the enemy for 
effective operations, the latter commenced firing, by which 
the horses were frightened, and some of them recoiling, caused 
a momentary confusion in the ranks. This delay afforded the 
British time to reload, but the columns were instantly put in 

* Commodore Perry in a letter to General Harrison, dated August 18th, 1817, paid 
this just and happy compliment to his distinguished friend. "The prompt change 
made by you in the order of battle on discovering the position of the enemy, has 
always appeared to me to have evinced a high deghee of military talext." 
It was justly remarked by a distinguished political writer, immediately after the vic- 
tory of the Thames, that " General Harrison has added a new manoeuvre to the sci- 
ence of military tactics — charging bayonet on horseback; which may afford some 
ingenious Englishman an opportunity of discovering a method of counteracting it, 
just as Captain Manby has explained to the enlightened John Bull the American 
secret of conquering at sea." Vide Democratic Press, October '25th, 1813. 

•j- See the annexed engraving representing General Harrison and his staff at the 
moment when this order was given. 

\ It was Lieutenant Colonel James Johnson who commanded the battalion of the 
mounted regiment, whose charge at once decided the contest, and not Colonel Richard 
M. Johnson, now Vice President of the United States, as has been generally supposed 
See McAfee's History, p. 391. 



w- ii r • I 













^i?i$+.|^^S^^^^®S!-^*^^''^'*'-^'*^*-'**^'^*"™'*-"^ 




GENERAL HARRISON. 71 

motion, and rushed down upon the enemy with irresistible im- 
petuosity. The first and second ranks broke and fled. The 
cavalry, conformably to General Harrison's orders, charged 
through them in every direction, and forming in their rear, 
poured destruction among them. 

Panic-struck by this bold, original, and unexpected manoeu- 
vre, and at being assailed both in front and rear, the British 
threw down their arms in dismay, and the whole army was 
captured, with the exception of a few who escaped by an early 
flight with the blood-stained and cowardly Proctor. " Thus," 
says McAfee, "the whole British force, upwards of eight 

HUNDRED STRONG, WAS TOTALLY VANQUISHED, AND THE GREAT- 
EST PART OF IT CAPTURED BY THE FIRST BATTALION OF THE 
MOUNTED REGIMENT UNDER Ll«UTENANT-CoLONEL JaMES 

Johnson, before the front line of infantry had got fairly in 
view of them." 

Resistance on the part of the British regulars under Proctor 
at once ceased; in fact, the enemy was vanquished and the 
field won. Proctor, himself, not liking General Harrison's 
new mode of attack, and his military education furnishing no 
check to \i, fairly ran off the field. General Harrison imme- 
diately ordered Major Payne to pursue him with a part of his 
battalion. This was promptly done, and the pursuit continued, 
by the greater part of the detachment, to the distance of six 
miles beyond the Moravian town, some Indians being killed, 
and a considerable number of prisoners, with a large quantity 
of plunder, being captured in their progress. Majors Payne, 
Wood, Todd and Chambers, Captain Langham, and Lieute- 
nants Scrogin and Bell, with three privates, continued the pur- 
suit several miles further, till night came upon them : but 
Proctor was not to be taken. His guilty conscience had told 
him that his only chance for safety from the vengeance of those 
whose countrymen he had murdered — butchered in cold blood 
— lay in the celerity of his flight. His pursuers, however, at 
last pressed him so closely that he was obliged to abandon the 
road and conceal himself in the forest! His carriage and sword 
became trophies in the hands of the gallant Wood. 

After the rout of the British regulars, some smart skirmishing 
took place on the left wing. General Harrison, finding it im • 



72 THELIFEOF 

possible for Colonel Richard M. Johnson to bring the second 
battalion under him to act against Proctor's men, ordered him 
to cross the swamp and attack the Indians, This he did at the 
time of Proctor's retreat. He led on his men in good order, 
but was unfortunately wounded by the very first discharge. 
He however ordered his men to dismount and form in line, and 
just as this was done he received a shot through the hand. 
He despatched the savage from whom he received it ; and his 
wounds being painful, he retired* from the field, leaving Major 
Thomson in command of his battalion.t 

The contest with the Indians was very severe and obstinate 
for a few moments. They reserved their fire till the heads of 
the columns and the front line on foot, had approached within 
a few paces of their position, A very warm fire was then 
commenced by them, about the time the firing ceased between 
the British and the first battalion. But the Indians had not 
sufficient firmness to withstand very long a galling and most 
destructive fire, which was poured in upon them from our 
troops. They gave way and fled through the brush into the 
outer swamp ; not, however, before they learned the total dis- 
comfiture of their British allies. As soon as the firing com- 
menced between the Indians and the second battalion, Governor 
Shelby, who was posted at the crotchet in its rear, immediately 
ordered that part of the front line of infantry which lay between 
the first swamp and crotchet, being a part of Colonel Donel- 
son's regiment, to march up briskly to the aid of the mounted 
mfen. They rushed up accordingly into Colonel Johnson's 
lines, and participated in the contest at that point. This was 
the only portion of the infantry which had an opportunity of 
engaging in any part of the battle. 

In this celebrated battle the opposing forces were nearly 
equal ; the British and Indians numbering upwards of two 
thousand eight hundred, while the American troops were 
about two thousand five hundred. The loss, however, was 

* See McAfee, from p. 388 to 392, for these facts. — Aurora, vol. iv. pp. 204, 205. — 
Niles' Register, vol. v. pp. 130—132. 

I " Colonel Johnson's numerous wounds prove that he was in front of the battle. 
Lieutenant-Colonel James Johnson and the Majors Payne and Thompson wets 
equally active, though more fortunate." — Official Account of the Battle^ 



GENERAL HARRISON 73 

wholly unequal. The Americans lost about thirty in ail, 
killed and wounded; whilst their foes lost six hundred and 
forty-five, killed, wounded, and prisoners, including twenty-five 
officers. 

Among the Indians attacked by Colonel Richard M. John- 
son's battalion was the renowned chief Tecumseh, who fell in 
the fight. A question has lately arisen as to who killed him. 
The friends of Colonel Johnson have claimed the merit for 
him. If there be merit in such an act, and it belongs to 
Colonel Johnson, we would not withhold it from him. The 
facts are as follows. Tecumseh was not distinguished from 
the rest of his tribe during the combat, nor was it known that 
he had fallen until General Harrison, to whom he was well 
known, pointed him out among the numbers who had fallen. 
His body was lying near the place where Colonel Johnson had 
received his last wound ; along side of it lay another body, 
and the Colonel could not distinguish the one which he had 
slain. The merit of this deed hes between Colonel Johnson 
and a Mr. King, a private in Captain Davidson's company. 
On this subject MciVfee remarks : — 

« It is certain that the latter (Colonel Johnson) killed the Indian with his pistol, 
who shot him through the hand at the very place where Tecumseh lay ; but another 
dead body lay at the same place, and Mr. King, a soldier in Captain Davidson's com- 
pany, had the honour of killing one of them.^^ 

We are informed, that Colonel Johnson has never asserted 
that he killed this chief. He, it appears, is unwilling to wrest 
the laurels from the brow of Mr, King, and in justice to an 
humble but brave man, we may regret that others should be 
less scrupulous than Colonel Johnson. 

Thus terminated the glorious and ever memorable battle of 
the Thames. Upon no occasion has the flag of the Republic 
been borne more triumphantly against a foreign foe ; on no 
occasion have its stars shone more brilliantly or its stripes 
flaunted more proudly, than on the banks of the river Thames. 

Much had been expected from Harrison's skill, but the re 
suit surprised even his most sanguine friends. His name 
became a theme of eulogy among the statesmen of the country — 
every man, woman and child in the land, mentioned it with 
hearts full of joy — with feelings of thankfulness and gratitude 
10 G 



74 THELIFEOF 

None were so ungenerous as to withhold their admiration — 
none so ungrateful as to deny his transcendent bravery and 
matchless military genius. It was left for the mercenary in- 
struments of corrupt politicians at the present day, to perform 
the base work of defamation ! 

This decisive and important battle was thus fought and won, 
in a space of time almost incredibly short, and with a very 
trifling loss on our side. All the baggage of the enemy and 
their valuable military stores, property to the amount of a mil- 
lion of dollars, together with the official papers of Proctor, fell 
into our hands; and several pieces of brass cannon, which had 
been taken from the British in our revolutionary victories at 
Saratoga and Yorktown, but which Hull had shamefully sur- 
rendered at Detroit, were again captured from our ancient foe 
by the heroic Harrison. 

The united force of the British regulars and Indians engaged 
in this battle, as we have before stated, amounted to more than 
twenty-eight hundred — the number of our troops was less than 
twenty-five hundred — and these, with the exception of one hun- 
dred and twenty regulars, were militia and volunteers. The 
venerable Governor Shelby, a hero of the Revolution, com- 
manded the Kentucky volunteers in this battle, and General 
Cass, our present minister to France, and the heroic Perry, 
acted as volunteer aids to General Harrison. This brilliant 
victory, following up the capture of the British fleet on Lake 
Erie by the gallant Perry, entirely destroyed the force of the 
enemy in Upper Canada, and put an end to the war on our 
north-western frontier. 

During this, as well as on former expeditions. General Harrison 
adopted a rule, on all occasions, to favour himself in nothing, 
but to share equally with the soldiers in the ranks, the fatigues 
and hardships of the campaign : A small valise contained all 
his baggage, except his bedding, v/hich consisted of a single 
blanket only, fastened over his saddle ; and even this he gave 
to Colonel Evans, a British officer, who was wounded and 
taken prisoner in this battle. Thirty-five British officers, pri- 
soners of war, supped with General Harrison, on the night 
after the battle, and all the fare he had it in his power to offer 
them, was fresh beef, plainly roasted before a camp-fire, without 



GENERAL HARRISON. 75 

either bread or salt.* This had been the food of the army 
during the expedition, and the rations of the General were 
always precisely those of the soldiers. On every occasion, 
indeed, he made it a point to set an example of fortitude and 
patience to his men, and to share with them every hardship, 
difficulty and danger. Whether encamped or marching, the 
whole army was regularly under arms at daybreak; and how- 
ever severe the weather, he never failed to be present, and in- 
deed was generally the first officer on horseback in the whole 
army. 

On receiving the glorious news of the Victory of the 
Thames, the thanks of Congress were expressed to General 
Harrison in the warmest terms of approbation. Among many 
others, whose grateful feelings found utterance on the occaskpi, 
the Hon. Langdon Cheves of South Carolina, formerly Speaker 
of the House of Representatives, observed on the floor of 
Congress, that 

"Tub victory of Harrisox was such as would have secured to a 
Roman General, in the best days of the Republic, the honours of a 
triumph. He put an end to the war in the uppermost Canada." 

James Madison, President of the United States, in his Mes- 
sage to Congress, December 7th, 1813, in speaking of the 
North-western army, stated that 

" The officer commanding the north-western army, (Harrison,) 
transferred the war thither (to Canada) and rapidly pursuing the 
hostile troops, fleeing with their associates, forced a general ac- 
tion, which Q.UICKLY TERMINATED IN THE DEFEAT OF THE BRITISH, AND 
dispersion OF THE SAVAGE FORCE. ThE RESULT IS SIGNALLY HONOURABLE 

TO MAJOR GENERAL HARRISON, by whose MILITARY TALENTS 
IT WAS PERFORMED." 

Simon Snyder, the patriotic Governor of Pennsylvania, and 
the idol of Democracy in that State, thus expressed his admira- 
tion of Harrison in his annual message to the Legislature of 
Pennsylvania, dated December 10th, 1S13. 

'' The BLESSINGS OF THOUSANDS OF WOMEN AND CHILDREN RESCUED FIIOJI 
THE SCALPING KNIFE OF THE RUTHLESS SAVAGE OF THE WILDERNESS, AND 
FROM THE STILL MORE SAVAGE PrOCTOR, REST ON HARRISON AND HIS 
OALLANT ARMY." 

* Extract from General Harrison's official report of the victory of the Thames 
^ We have suffered greatly for the want of provisions, and the whole army has sub 
listed, for the last three days, ON raw beef without salt." 



76 THELIFEOF 

The following resolution was passed by both branches of 
Congress : 

" Resolved, by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of 
America, in Congress assembled, That the thanks of Congress be, and they are hereby 
presented to Major-General William Henry Harrison, and Isaac Shelby, late Governor 
of Kentucky, and through them to the officers and men under their command, for 
their gallantry and good conduct in defeating the combined British and Indian forces 
under Major-General Proctor, on the Thames, in Upper Canada, on the 5th day ol 
October, 1813, capturing the British army, with their baggage, camp equipage, and 
artillery; and that the President of the United States be requested to cause two 
gold Medals to be struck, emblematical of this triumph, and presented to General 
Harrison and Isaac Shelby, late Governor of Kentucky." 

The venerable Thomas Ritchie, Esq., an ardent personal 
friend of Mr. Van Buren, and the editor now, as then, of the 
• Richmond Enquirer, in referring to General Harrison's oflicial 
aalount of the action, remarked, 

" General Harrison's detailed letter tells us of every thing we wish to know abouf 
the officers, except himself. He does justice to every one but to Harrison ; the work' 
must therefore do justice to the man ivho loas too modest to be just to himself." 

But why multiply proofs of the universal sense entertained ol 
the importance of this brilliant achievement of valour, or of the 
high national estimate of Harrison's heroic bravery and military 
prowess ! Volumes would not contain the recorded tributes 
of admiration and gratitude which filled the columns of our 
•public journals and the minutes of our legislative bodies. His 
name was a theme of praise upon every tongue. He was 
hailed from Maine to Louisiana, as the " Washington of the 
West." He was the subject of eulogy at every democratic 
celebration in the country. The mayors of all the large cities 
issued proclamations inviting the citizens to illuminate their 
houses in honour of the glorious triumph. And why did the 
nation thus rejoice ? why did joy light up every countenance 
at the mention of the name of Harrison ? He had expelled 
the British and their savage associates from our soil, which they 
polluted ! He had followed them in their flight to Canada, and 
made the proud Lion of England cower before the American 
Eagle ! He had put an end to the strife of arms on our north 
western frontier. He had hushed the din of war; given repose 
and security to millions of his fellow citizens; and enabled the 
husbandman and mechanic to resume their peaceful occu- 
pations ! 



GENERAL HARRISON. 77 



CHAPTER VI. 

Harrison removes his troops to Niagara and thence to Sackett's Harbour — Sets out 
for Washington — Urged by Madison to repair to Cincinnati — His resignation — 
Causes of this step — Feelings of the American people and army — Croghan's re- 
sistance to the Secretary's measures — Jealousy of General Armstrong, and his 
dismissal from the War Department — Shelby interposes to prevent the resignation 
of Harrison— Remarks — Sentiments of Colonel Richard M. Johnson — Civil services 
of Harrison — Elected to Congress — Solicits an investigation into his conduct whilst 
in command of the army — A committee is appointed — Their report — Triumphant 
acquittal — Congress bestows a gold medal on Harrison for his military services — 
His course in Congress — Bill for the relief of veteran soldiers — Bill regulating the 
militia — Elected to the Senate of Ohio — Elected to the United States Senate — 
Succeeds General Jackson as chairman of the committee on military affairs — Ap- 
pointed minister to Colombia — Conclusion, 

I 

Peace was now restored on the north-western frontier. The 
ever-memorable victory of the Thames, so brilliant in its exe- 
cution, and so decisive and glorious in its results, at once termi- 
nated the conflict in that quarter. Having expelled the enemy 
from our soil, and signally defeated them on their own territory 
in Upper Canada, General Harrison resolved to remove a part 
of his troops to the Niagara frontier, to assist in the operations 
then in progress there. The Secretary of War had forwarded 
an order to him to this effect, but the bearer having been 
drowned on his journey, it never reached him. Thus do we 
find Harrison a second time anticipating the instructions of the 
government. On his arrival at Niagara, he found an order 
directing him to proceed to Sackett's Harbour with his troops. 
With this he immediately complied, and, leaving his troops at 
Sackett's Harbour, he set out for Washington. His journey 
was one of triumph. He was every where received with the 
utmost enthusiasm, and entertained with the most distinguished 
hospitality. New York, Philadelphia, and Baltimore, each, in 
its turn, rivalled t'he other in its demonstrations of regard and 
veneration for the man whom all hailed as their deliverer. 

g2 



78 THELIFEOF 

On his arrival at Washington, he was urged by President 
Madison to repair to Cincinnati, to superintend the measures 
then contemplated. Shortly afterwards, however, his military 
career was brought to an abrupt close by his resignation. This 
event, the subject of national regret, was produced by causes 
which all deemed abundantly sufficient, who had the slightest 
knowledge of military etiquette, or were able to appreciate 
the high sense of honour with which a conquering general's 
bosom must be animated. 

In the plan for the ensuing campaign, to the surprise and 
regret of the public, General Harrison was designated for a 
service far removed from any post of danger, and inferior 
to that which he had a right to expect. Regardless of the 
memorable victories which this gallant and experienced officer 
had won, and unmindful of the various and important services 
which he had rendered to his country, the Secretary of War, 
(Armstrong,) saw fit to assign to him the command of a district 
where he would be compelled to remain inactive, while others 
were appohited to those more arduous duties which he had 
heretofore performed with so much honour to himself and to 
the nation. As if still unsatisfied with this egregious insult 
which he had offered to General Harrison, Secretary Armstrong, 
on the 25th of April, 1814, appointed a subordinate officer to a 
separate command within his district, and at the same time 
opened a correspondence with the subalterns of the army under 
his command; and even went so far as to issue orders to them 
directly, instead of communicating his orders through the com- 
mander — a course which good discipline required to be observed, 
and which all previous practice had sanctioned. On the receipt 
of this intelligence. General Harrison instantly addressed a letter 
to the Secretary, tendering his resignation, with a notification 
thereof to the President. 

These measures, on the part of the Secretary, were regarded 
with disgust by the whole American people, and were viewed 
with equal abhorrence and contempt by the army. 

To show the feelings with which they were received by 
the army, we will give an extract of a letter to Harrison, by 
Croghan, the hero of Fort Stephenson. 



GENERAL HARRISON. 79 

" Major Holmes has been notified by the War Department that he is chosen to 
command the land troops, which are intended to co-operate with the fleet, against the 
enemy's fleet, on the Upper Lakes. So soox as i mat be directed by xou, 
(Harrison,) to order Major Holmes on that command, and to furnish him with 
the necessary troops, I shall do so ; but xot till then shall he ok ant part 

OF MX TROOPS LEAVE THE SOD." 

For this unjustifiable and outrageous course on the part of 
Secretary Armstrong, no sufficient apology has ever been 
assigned by him, and conjecture is baffled by the inquiry, why 
a General, who, by the foree of his military genius, had expelled 
the enemy from our shores, had subdued a hostile territory, 
who was neither accused nor suspected of any impropriety, 
should be deprived of the command of the field where his 
arms had triumphed. The second measure of the Secretary, 
independent of the indignity offered to Harrison, was calculated 
to destroy all discipline in the army. 

It was well known that General Armstrong had long viewed 
with acrimonious jealousy, the imperishable laurels won by 
Harrison. Well might he regard with bitterness, therefore, 
every new occasion for adding splendour to the halo which en- 
circled the head of the gallant chief, who had already "fought 

MORE BATTLES THAN ANY OTHER AMERICAN GeNERAL, AND 

NEVER LOST ONE." Fcw, howcvcr, dccmcd his envy of so 
malignant a character, as to be able to impel him to a course 
calculated to disgrace the service, tarnish the national honour, 
and cast the apple of discord into the army. 

It will be difficult, at this period, to trace out the true mo- 
tives that induced the Secretary of War to the unjustifiable 
course he pursued in this affair. But some knowledge of those 
events of the war in which he bore a part, with a little insight 
into human nature, would suggest that the leading causes 
which prompted him, were the envy and jealousy which a 
narrow-minded man would naturally feel, on contrasting his 
own feeble efforts, and abortive attempts, with the consummate 
skill and brilliant victories, and the almost uniform successes 
of another. That he had acted in an arbitrary and unwarrant- 
able manner, was afterwards clearly proved. And in the in- 
vestigation which took place in Congress in the winter of 
1816-17, it became so evident that General Harrison had been 
treated with great injustice by the war department, that a re- 



80 THELIFEOF 

solution giving him a gold medal and the thanks of Congress, 
was passed unanimously by the Senate, and with but one dis-* 
senting voice by the House of Representatives. 

Mr. Secretary Armstrong was shortly after expelled from 
office by the indignant Madison; and his name is now almost 
forgotten, or if remembered is only kept alive by the suspicions 
which attached to him, of having been accessory to the treason 
of Hull; whilst William Henry Harrison, the wronged 
object of his violent opposition, has recently been nominated, 
by an exalted body of his most distinguished fellow-citizens, 
as a candidate for the highest office in their gift. 

No sooner had the venerable and chivalrous Shelby, the 
hero of King's Mountain, heard of the resignation of General 
Harrison, than he addressed a letter to President Madison to 
prevent his acceptance of it.* In this letter, dated May 18th, 
1814, he remarked : — 

" I feel no hesitation to declare to you, that I believe General Harrison to be one 
of the ^rs^ military characters that I ever knew, and in addition to this, he is capable 
of viakhig greater personal exertions than any officer with whom I have served. I 
doubt not but it will be hereafter found that the command of the North-western army, 
and the various duties attached to it, has been one of the most arduous and diffi- 
cult tasks ever assigned to any officer in the United States." 

Unfortunately for the interests and honour of the Republic, 
President Madison was absent from the seat of government, 
on a visit to Virginia, — the resignation of General Harrison 
and the letter of Governor Shelby were forwarded to him, but 
the latter was not received until after Secretary Armstrong, 
without his knoivledge or consent, had assumed to himself the 
high prerogative of accepting the resignation. "The Presi- 
dent," says Mr. Dawson in his biography of Harrison, "ex- 
pressed his great regret that the letter of Governor Shelby had 
not been received earlier, as in that case the valuable services 
of General Harrison would have been preserved to the nation 
in the ensuing campaign." The vacancy created in the army 

* It is worthy of note, as affording in itself conclusive evidence of his views in 
regard to the conduct of 4'rmstrong, that just before his death and during the Presi- 
dential campaign of 1836, Mr. Madison requested his acciim|ilished wife to search 
among his papers for this letter of Governor Shelby, and transmit a copy to a friend 
in Cincinnati for publication. This request she promptly complied with, and it is to 
this incident that we are indebted for the above extract. 



GENERAL HARRISON. 81 

by the resignation of an officer so distinguished as General 
Harrison, was not easily to be supplied. It was, however, 
soon after filled by the appointment of General Jackson. 

In this resignation, General Harrison evinced the true patriot- 
ism and disinterestedness, which have always marked his con- 
duct. He would cheerfully have devoted his services to his 
country, even in an appointment inferior to that which should 
have been assigned to him ; but he was too high-principled to 
retain his rank, by yielding assent to measures which he con- 
sidered to be subversive of miUtary order and discipline ; and 
though his own fortune had been shattered by the neglect of his 
private affairs, for the benefit of the public, yet he scorned to 
receive the pay and emoluments of his office, when he was no 
longer permitted to perform its duties actively and honourably. 

Soon after his resignation, in the summer of 1S14, Mr. 
Madison evinced his unabated confidence in the abilities and 
integrity of General Harrison, by appointing him to treat with 
the Indians, in conjunction with his old companions in arms. 
Governor Shelby and General Cass. And in the following 
3^ear, he was placed at the head of another commission, ap- 
pointed to treat with the north-western tribes. The advan- 
tageous treaties made in both these cases, aflbrded new instances 
of the unfailing success, that lias always attended General Har- 
rison's negotiations with the Indians. ^ 

The leading events in the campaigns of 1812-13, — the gal- 
lant defence of Fort Meigs, and the decisive victory of the 
Thames, are lasting memorials of General Harrison's military 
genius. Yet, for these achievements, he deserves far less praise 
than for the skilful operations and the Fabian policy, which 
led to these and other successes. The prudent care and inde- 
fatigable exertions, by wliich he provided for his army in a 
wild and devastated country — the promptness and unwearied 
activity, v.'ith which lie met and defeated the schemes of his 
antagonists — and the admirable skill, with which he held in 
check an enemy far superior in numbers, and with a small force 
protected an extended line of frontier, and guarded the lives 
and property of thousands of his fellow-citizens, betokened a 
genius of the highest order, with a vigorous mind constantly 
on the alert. 

11 



82 THELIFEOF 

Thus closed the military career of Major-General Harrison, 
one of America's most upright and successful commanders. 
We hazard nothing in saying, that as an officer, he has had 
but few equals ; in one particular, at all events, he seems to 
have had no parallels — in securing and retaining the affections 
of his officers and men. In an army of republicans, the love 
which a soldier bears his commander, and the confidence he 
places in him, are, at all times, the chief inceetives to exertion. 
The Americans, on becoming soldiers, never divest themselves 
wholly of the character of citizens. Discipline may modify 
their habits ; suffering and absence from home may for a time 
estrange their domestic affections; still, they know and feel 
that, in all the essential rights of man, they and their official 
superiors are equals ; that the authority of the commander is 
but a trust granted on account of superior knowledge or saga- 
city, but which he holds, and is bound to exercise, for the 
benefit of the whole. They know that when the invader shall 
be expelled from the soil of freedom, they and their general 
shall stand on the same level, enjoying the same rights, pro- 
tected by the same laws, and obliged to render to society the 
same duties. 

So long as they continue bound to him by the silken chain 
of affection, their obedience will be cheerful and implicit ; but 
let them^but once suspect his capacity or integrity, and the 
voice of discord and insubordination will be heard, even amid 
the din of battle or the plaudits of victory. 

To these considerations Harrison seemed to have been fully 
alive; and accordingly, we at all times find him, like Washing- 
ton, scrupulously respectful of the rights and even feelings of 
those who had enrolled themselves for the defence of their 
country; willing, nay anxious to nuUify the severity of military 
discipline, and render it as consistent and conformable as pos- 
sible with those civil rights for which they were contending. 
He never caused a mihtia soldier to be punished during the 
whole period of his military career. Few commanders can 
say as much; and yet no one ever enjoyed the confidence, 
admiration and obedience of the militia to so great an extent. 

It is scarcely necessary to state the estimation in which he 
was held by the officers under his command. In no instance 



GENERAL HARRISON. 83 

which has reached us, has the voice of one of them been raised 
to discredit the commander who led them to victory: but to 
their and his honour be it said, whenever he has been attacked 
by the voice of calumny, they have, as by a common impulse, 
rallied in his defence ; thus proving themselves worthy of the 
laurels which they wear. 

We cannot better illustrate the esteem and veneration with 
which he has ever been regarded by the many brave officers 
who are at all times proud to boast of having been his pupils, 
than by copying the following eloquent remarks of Colonel 
Richard M. Johnson, now Vice-President of the United 
States, delivered in Congress, March 2d, 1831. 

" Who is General Harrison 1 The son of one of the signers of the Declaration of 
Independence ; who spent the greater part of his large fortune in redeeming the 
pledge he then gave, of his 'fortune, life and sacred honour,' to secure the liberties 
of his country. Of the career of General Harrison I need not speak ; the history of 
the West is his history. For forty years he has been identified with its interests, its 
perils and its hopes. Universally beloved in the walks of peace, and distinguished 
by his ability in the councils of his country, he has been yet more illustriously dis- 
tinguished in the field. Durixg the late wah, he was longer in active 

SERVICE THAX ant OTHER GENERAL OFFICER; HE WAS, PERHAPS, OFTENEH IN 
ACTION THAN ANT ONE OF THEM, AND NEVER SUSTAINED A DEFEAT." 

Although General Harrison had retired from the army, it 
could not be expected that talents such as he possessed, would 
long remain unemployed in a government based upon and sup- 
ported hy public opinion alone. Accordingly in the year 1816, 
he Avas triumphantly elected by the people of Ohio, to fill a seat 
in Congress, at that time vacated by the resignation of the Hon. 
John McLean. To enable our readers to form some idea of 
the feeling which pervaded the West in his favour at the time, 
we will only state, that although there were six opposing can- 
didates, the votes received by him exceeded the number polled 
by the whole of them, more than one thousand. A more 
triumphant vindication of his claims cannot well be conceived. 
Republics have long been famed for ingratitude. The reproach 
has at length become a by-word ; but we feel confident, that 
in no case, where the merit of an individual has been known, 
has it ever been unappreciated by the people, however it may 
have been disregarded by their faithless servants. 

Shortly after he took his seat in Congress, one of the array 



84 THELIFEOF 

contractors, whose unlawful aims had been defeated by the 
rigid supervision of Harrison, uttered language which insinu- 
ated against him and Richard M. Johnson, a charge of miscon^ 
duct, whilst the former was in command of the army. General 
Harrison boldly met the charge, and solicited an investigation 
hy Congress. 

A committee of Congress was appointed on the subject, who 
reported that "General Harrison and Richard M. Johnson 
STOOD ABOVE SUSPICION." At a subscquent stage of the inquiry, 
the matter Avas referred to the Secretary of War, who reported 
that General Harrison had been guilty of no impropriety of 
conduct ; that upwards of a million and a half of dollars had 
passed through his hands during the ivar, no part of ivhich 
had been applied to his own use ; that from the evidence fur- 
nished to him, it appeared that General Harrison ivas poorer 
at the end of the war than he ivas at the beginning of it. In 
relation to this subject, Mr. Hulbert (one of the committee) 
remarked as follows: "In fine, I feel myself authorized 

TO SAY, THAT EVERY MEMBER OF THE COMMITTEE IS 'fULLT 
SATISFIED THAT THE CONDUCT OP GeNERAL HaRRISON, IN 
RELATION TO THE SUBJECT MATTER OF THIS INQUIRY, HAS 
BEEN THAT OF A BRAVE, HONEST AND HONOURABLE MAN." 

Such testimony as this, in the hour of victory, when the 
bosom of every American beat high and warm with the ex- 
ultations of triumph, might derive a part of its weight from 
the enthusiasm of national feeling; but let it be recollected 
that this was some three years after the eclat of his victories 
had pervaded the land. The report was made at a time of 
profound peace, by a committee of Congress, acting under the 
solemn obligations of an oath. 

It was during the pendency of this inquiry that a resolution 
was introduced into the Senate of the United States, by Mr. 
Barlow, of Virginia, to grant to General Harrison and Governor 
Shelby, a gold medal, commemorative of the services they had 
rendered to the country. This resolution, on motion of Mr. 
Laycock, of Pennsylvania, was postponed. The postponement 
has lately been held up, by the opponents of General Harrison, 
as a Hiark of disapprobation. But the reader will perceive, at 
a glance, that it was impossible to pass it without prejudging 



GENERAL HARRISON. 85 

the questions submitted, at the instance of General Harrison, 
to the committee of inquiry. Had it been passed, it was such 
an evidence of the approval of Congress, as would have ren- 
dered the inquiry useless. Had it been negatived, injustice 
would have been done a brave and patriotic man. The only 
course was to postpone it, andj^'at a day subsequent to the re- 
port of the committee, the resolution came up and passed the 
Senate unanimously, and the House of Representatives with 
but ONE dissenting voice. The medal thus presented, was 
worthy of the donors, and not less of him who was the reci- 
pient of the honour.* 

As a better opportunity will not be presented in the progress 
of this hasty sketch of General Harrison's life, for relating the 
following anecdote, and as we have just explained his triumph- 
ant vindication from the calumny of one foe, we will here 
take occasion to recount another. 

A fellow, whose name was Mcintosh, feeling aggravated at 
some restriction imposed on his traffic with the savages, openly 
asserted that Governor Harrison had cheated the Indians in 
the treaty at Fort Wayne, by which the United States had the 
year before obtained so large a cession of lands from the ]\Ii- 
amies, Delawares, Pottawatomies and Kickapoos. As this ca- 
lumny was industriously circulated. Governor Harrison thought 
it due both to his own character, and to that of the genera) 
government, that the charge should be fully and judicially in- 
vestigated, while the subject was still fresh, and the testimony 
in relation to the treaty at Fort Wayne was still within reach. 
An action for slander was therefore brought against Mcintosh, 
in the Supreme Court of the Territory, and every possible 
measure was adopted to obtain a fair and impartial decision. 
To insure this, two of the judges left the bench during the 
trial — one being a friend of the governor, and the other of the 
defendant; leaving the case to be adjudicated by the third 
judge, who had but recently arrived in the Territory, and was 
but slightly acquainted with either of the parties. All the 
facts connected with the negotiation of the treaty of Fort 

* It is not unworthy of remark that General Laycoek, who, pending the inquiry, 
moved the postponement of the resolution, supported General Harrison when a can- 
didate for President, in 1835-6. 

H 



86 THE LIFE OF 

Wayne, were critically inquired into, and the defendant was 
allowed every opportunity to examine all the persons engaged 
in the Indian Department, or who were acquainted with the 
circumstances attendant upon the making of this treaty. But 
the more this subject was investigated, the more clearly did it 
manifest the strict honour and integrity of Governor Harrison ; 
until, at length, convinced of this, the counsel of Mcintosh 
abandoned all plea of justification, and asked only for a miti- 
gation of damages. The jury returned a verdict of four 
thousand dollars against the defendant ; a heavy verdict in a 
new country, where money is always scarce, and damages 
given by juries in such cases are generally very small. A 
large amount of the defendant's property was sold the following 
year to satisfy this judgment, and was bought in by the agent 
of the governor v/hile he himself was absent in command of 
the army. Tivo-thirds of this property Governor Harrison 
afterwards returned to Mcintosh, and the remainder he dis- 
tributed among the orphan children of some of his gallant 
fellow-citizens ivho fell in battle during the last war! Such 
acts need no comment : while magnanimity, disinterestedness 
and generosity are prized among men, the tongue of praise 
even can scarcely do them justice. 

Mr. Hall remarks, that General Harrison had two objects in 
view, in accepting the seat in Congress. They were, 

1st. The introduction of an efficient Military System. 

2d. To procure relief for the veteran soldiers who had served in the two wars of 
Independence. 

He was placed at the head of the committee to whom the 
organization of the Militia system was referred, and in due 
time, introduced a bill accompanied with a report, in which he 
endeavoured to establish these points : 

1st. " That a government like ours should rely upon its militia for defence, rather 
than on a standing army. 

2d. " That the militia should be disciplined. • 

3d. " That a state of discipline adequate to the object, could only be obtained, by 
a system of instruction combined with the ordinary education of youth." 

Our limits will not permit us to furnish our readers with an 
abstract of his arguments on this subject, the theory of which 
was so ably sustained by the experience of its author, but will 
content ourselves with remarking that it was " submitted to 



GENERAL HARRISON. 87 

the executive, and was approved by all the heads of depart- 
ments, especially by Mr. Monroe and Mr. Crawford." 

Whilst in Congress, Harrison warmly advocated the acknow- 
ledgment of the independence of the South American Republics, 
and made some of the most eloquent speeches delivered on the 
subject. 

At the expiration of his term of service in Congress, in 1S19, 
he was elected by the people of Ohio to the State Senate, in 
which he served for some time with his usual eminent ability. 

In the year 1824, he was elected by tlj^e Legislature of Ohio, 
to the Senate of the United States, in which body he succeeded 
GeneralJackson as Chairman of the Committee 07i Military 
Affairs. While serving in this high station, he commanded 
universal respect. His views as a statesman were liberal and 
extended ; his remarkable readiness in debate soon rendered 
him a prominent member ; and the nervous and impassioned 
eloquence, and classical felicity of illustration, with which he 
enforced his arguments, gained him irresistible influence. He 
introduced a bill into the Senate to reduce the duty on salt, and 
was the most zealous champion of a bill to confer the appoint- 
ment of cadets at West Point on the sons of those who had 
fallen in battle. He also warmly urged the claims of our vete- 
ran soldiers upon government for sujjport ; and although un- 
successful in procuring a modification of our pension system, 
his efforts on this subject cannot soon be forgotten by those who 
were the objects of his humane interposition. The next dis- 
tinguished station filled by Harrison, was that of Envoy Extra- 
ordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to the Republic of Co- 
lombia, to which he was appointed in the year 1826. The 
difficulties which he found existing in that Republic, induced 
him to write his celebrated letter to Bolivar, dated at Bogota, 
September 27, 1829. We hazard little in saying, that in point 
of sound republican doctrine, it is second to no document 
extant. 

Since his return from this mission, he has lived, like Wash- 
mgton and Cincinnatus, in comparative retirement, upon his 
farm at North Bend, on the Ohio, about sixteen miles below 
the city of Cincinnati. A visiter, unacquainted with the illus- 
trious old patriot, would discern nothing in his demeanour, 



88 THELIFEOF 

habits, occupation or manners, to distinguish him from that 
intelligent and industrious class of our countrymen to whom 
Jefferson declared "we are to look for the preservation of our 
liberties," — the yeomanry of America ! Plain and unosten- 
tatious, hospitable to a fault, and generous to all who claim his 
bounty, his farm-house is the resort of the indigent and needy 
from almost every quarter of the country. No soldier who has 
served under him, ever passes his mansion without sharing his 
hospitality. Though his resources are by no means inexhaust- 
ible, no meritorious victim of misfortune has ever appealed to 
his benevolence in vain. In addition to his own family, he is 
rearing and educating two grandsons, who are also the grand- 
sons of the gallant and glorious General Pike. 

With the most enticing opportunities of accumulating wealth, 
during his long government of Indiana and superintendency of 
Indian affairs, he acquired none ; his honest and scrupulous 
integrity were proof against the golden temptations. His time 
and best energies were devoted to the service of his country, and 
his own interests were ever with him a secondary consideration. 
He even, when Governor of Indiana, greatly diminished the 
usual emoluments of such an office, by refusing to accept any of 
those fees, whether as Governor or as Superintendent of Indian 
Affairs, which before his time had been customarily paid. For 
his services as commander of the expedition to Tippecanoe, he 
never asked nor received any compensation! And subse- 
quently, when in command of our north-western army, though 
he lived as frugally and fared as hardly as any of his fellow- 
citizens in the ranks, yet, at his own expense, he purchased 
clothing and necessary comforts for his sick and wounded sol- 
diers, until he not only exhausted his pay as commander-in- 
chief, but seriously encroached too on his own private means. 
He therefore retired without the spoils of office, and with only 
a competency barely sufficient for his support; but rich in what 
he esteemed of far greater value — in a reputation undimmed 
by a single stain, and in the honour and respect of all his 
fellow-citizens. 

We cannot refrain here from alluding to a circumstance which 
evinces the peculiar delicacy and honour which have always 
swayed General Harrison in his pecuniary transactions. A few 



GENERAL HARRISON. 89 

years ago, it was ascertained that a large tract of land near 
Cincinnati, which had been sold some time before for a mere 
trifle, under an execution against the original proprietor, could 
not be held by the titles derived from the purchasers, on account 
of some irregularity in the proceedings. The legal title was in 
General Harrison and another gentleman, who were the heirs 
at law. This tract of land was exceedingly valuable, and would 
have constituted a princely estate for both these heirs, had they 
chosen to insist on their legal rights: or they might have made 
some amicable arrangement with the purchasers, to which they 
would gladly have assented, and have retained at least one half 
of this property, by giving up the remainder. But General 
Harrison had never yet suffered his interest to blind his true 
sense of justice and high-minded honour, nor did he in this 
instance. On being informed of the situation of this property, 
he obtained the assent of his co-heir, and immediately executed 
deeds in fee simple to the purchasers, uathout claiming any 
consideration except the trifling difference between the actual 
value of the land when sold and the amount paid at the 
sheriff's sale. There were in this tract, too, twelve acres of 
General Harrison's private property by donation from his 
father-in-law, which had been improperly included in the sale, 
and which he might have retained both legally and equitably; 
but such was his nice sense of honour and scrupulous regard 
for the rights of others, that he suffered even these twelve acres 
to be included in the deed given to the purchasers. This por- 
tion of the land thus relinquished by General Harrison, is now 
worth more than one hundred thousand dollars! 

In person. General Harrison is tall and slender ; his features 
are irregular, but bold and strongly marked; his eyes are dark, 
keen and penetrating ; his forehead is high and expansive ; his 
month peculiarly denotes firmness and genius ; and the expres- 
sion of his countenance is highly indicative of intelligence and 
benevolence of character. From early manhood he has never 
had the appearance of possessing a robust constitution; but 
from the activity and temperate habits of his past life, few men 
at his age, enjoy their moral and physical energies in such 
remarkable vigour. His manners are plain, frank and unas- 
suming; and his disposition is cheerful, kind and generous, 
12 h2 



90 THE LIFE OF 

almost to a fault. In his private intercourse, he is beloved and 
esteemed by all who know him. In the various civil and mili- 
tary offices he has held, he has always been moderate and for- 
bearing, yet firm and true to his trust. No other commander 
has ever been more popular with our militia, and the true 
secret cannot be better explained than by his own reply, when 
asked how he had gained this influence: " By treating them," 
said he, " whh affection and kindness ; by always recollecting 
that they were my fellow-citizens, whose feelings I was bound 
to respect ; and by sharing with them, on every occasion, the 
hardships which they were obliged to undergo." 

His suavity of manners, his generosity and kindness of heart, 
invariably won him the warm affections of those who were 
placed under his authority, while his moderation, his disinte- 
restedness, his scrupulous attention to the public interests, and 
the wisdom with which he exercised the extensive powers 
intrusted to him, commanded the respect and confidence of his 
fellow-citizens. 

General Harrison is likewise strictly and truly a pious man. 
Though he has always been noted for his particular attention 
to public worship and Christian offices, yet religion with him 
has not been a Sabbath-day garment only, but rather an every- 
day familiar habit — not a mere sense of incumbent duty, but 
a warm and spontaneous feeling, kindled into life in his early 
youth, and forming the hope and firm reliance of his manhood 
and declining years. The writer of a biographical notice of 
him, declares that he deems it no betrayal of confidence to say, 
that he has more than once, on entering at daybreak the cham- 
ber of General Harrison, found him on his knees at his bedside, 
absorbed in his devotions to his Maker, when he could not 
have supposed that any eye save that of his God was resting 
on him. 

In the republican institutions of our country, birth and 
parentage are comparatively of very Httle importance ; and no 
candidate for public favour can found thereon the slightest 
claim to the respect or the support of his fellow-citizens. VS^e 
have happily shaken off the thralling prejudices of the old 
world, and a title to office and honourable distinction is not with 
us hereditary ; but every man must earn his own good name, and 



GENERAL HARRISON. 91 

his claim on the favour of the people by his own good deeds. 
Yet aware, as every one must be, of the powerful influence of 
early education, it is worthy of remark, as well as gratifying 
to know, that a candidate for public office, in whom we feel an 
interest, passed all the early years of his life with the brightest 
examples of virtue constantly before him ; and under the 
tuition of illustrious patriots, whose memory is revered by 
every true-hearted American. It is pleasing to be assured, 
that his first political sentiments were imbibed in a school of 
the purest republican principles, ' And when we trace up the 
career of this remarkable man, from the spring-time of his 
youth, to the summer of his manhood, and to the early autumn 
of his years, and see those principles closely adhered to through- 
out, we can scarcely resist the conviction, that his future course 
will be consistent with the past ; and that, with matured abili- 
ties, he will still be more conspicuous for his republican prin- 
ciples, his moderation in office, his firm integrity, and his 
extended and enlightened views as a statesman. Such were 
the early advantages of William Henry Harrison; such has 
been his course thus far through life ; and such is now the 
bright promise, to a realization of which we may safely look 
forward, should the people see fit to place him in office. 

The principles that would govern General Harrison, should 
he be elected to the Presidency, may be known by the following 
extracts from a letter addressed by him to the Hon. Harmar 
Denny, on the 2d of December, 1838. 

" Among the principles proper to be adopted by any Executive sincerelj' desirous 
to restore the administration to its original simplicity and purity, I deem the following 
to be of prominent importance. 

"I. To CONFINE HIS SERVICE TO A SINGLE TERM- 

"IL To DISCLAIM ALL RIGHT OF CONTROL OVER THE PUBLIC TREASURE, with 

iJie exception of such part of it as may he appropriated hy law to carry on the 
public services, and that to be applied precisely as the law may direct, a)id drawn 
from the treasury agreeably to the long established forms of that department. 

"III. That he should never attempt to influence the elections either 
hy the People or the State Legislatures, nor suffer the Federal officers under his 
control, to take any other part in them than by giving their own votes when they 
possess the right of voting. 

" IV. That in the exercise of the veto power, he should limit his rejection of 
bills to: 1st. Such as are in his opinio7i unconstitutional. 2d. Such as tend to 
ejicroach on the rights of States or ijidividuals, 3d. Such as, involving deep 



92 THE LIFE OF 

interests, may in his opinion require more mature deiiheration or reference to the 
will of the people, to he ascertained at the succeeding elections. 

" V. That he should never suffer the influence of his name to be used for pur- 
poses of a purely party character. 

" VI. Tliat in removals from office of those ivho hold their appointments 
during the pleasure of the executive, the cause of such removal should be slated^ 
if requested, to the Senate, at the time the nomination of a successor is made. 

" And last, but not least in importance, 

" VII. That he should not suffer the Executive department of the government 
to become the source of Legislation ,- but leave the whole business of making laws 
for the Union to the department to which the Constitution has exclusively assigned 
it, until they have assumed that perfected shape, where and when alone the opinions 
of the Executive may be heard.'''' 

Our confined limits restrain us from making more liberal 
extracts from this admirable letter, the noble and purely repub- 
lican sentiments of which, together with its plain yet manly and 
vigorous language, forcibly remind us of the invaluable writings 
of our revered J'Vashingto7i. 

The friends of General Harrison found no especial claim od 
his military services. His friends would scorn, as much as 
he would, any attempt to dazzle a single one of their fellow- 
citizens by the glory of his military renown, brilliant though it 
be. They would point rather to his numerous civil services, in 
the forty years he has devoted to his country; to the various 
and important offices he has so ably filled, — in the territorial 
govermnents, in the Legislature of his own state, and in the 
House of Representatives and Senate of the United States j 
and to the high order of abilities displayed in his speeches in 
Congress, in his public acts, and in his voluminous public cor- 
respondence. And we here take occasion to say, that all his 
letters and public papers have been exclusively written by him- 
self; and that so far from his having called in the mental aid 
of another to prepare his messages and despatches, as some of 
our distinguished men have condescended to do, he has never 
even employed an amanuensis to perform the manual labour 
of his correspondence. His ruling principles through life appear 
to have been, an ardent love for his country and an earnest 
desire to serve her best interests ; with a devotion to the pure 
republican maxims of the Revolution, always unwavering and 
consistent : unlike the scheming politicians of a more modem 



. GENERAL HARRISON. 93 

school, whose own interest is the polar star that guides them, 
whatever may betide their country. 

The services of General Harrison have always been rendered 
to his country and not to any political faction : nor have his 
civil or mihtary promotions ever been obtained by party ar- 
rangements or underhand manosuvres; but on the contrary, 
they were given him at the earnest wish and by the spontane- 
ous confidence of his fellow-citizens. Neither has his present 
nomination for the Presidency been made by a discontented 
faction or political party, but by the voluntary choice of a great 
majority of the people, uttered by their chosen delegates. And 
happily, the more his claims to the high office for which he has 
been nominated, are canvassed, the more acceptable will he 
become. A veteran soldier who has won for his country every 
battle he has fought ; an experienced statesman whose integ- 
rity has been thoroughly tried and proved ; a practical repub- 
lican of the good old school ; and an honest man ; — whose 
attachment to the true interests of the people is unquestionable, 
and who will rally about him the great mass of honest and 
intelligent citizens. 

With tried patriotism, with abilities of the highest order, with 
integrity pure as the unsullied snow, and with the truest repub- 
lican principles, William Henry Harrison is now before his 
fellow-citizens as a candidate for the highest office in their gift. 
In the long course of his public life, he has always openly 
avowed and proved himself a stanch advocate of popular 
rights, and is therefore truly THE CANDIDATE OF THE 
PEOPLE. He comes before them, not with a crowd of pam- 
pered and still-grasping officials,to intrigue and bribe for him, but 
with the noble frankness of an honourable and high-minded 
man, w-illing and desirous to be judged impartially by his 
fellow-citizens, and ready to abide by their honest decision. 



APPENDIX. 

The following letter was addressed to Bolivar by General Harrison, when Ambassador 
Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary from the United States to the Republic of Colom- 
bia. It was suggested by the fear that Bolivar would yield to the exigencies of the times, and 
assume regal power, by converting the republican government of Colombia into a despotism. 
General Harrison immediately conceived the purpose of dissuading him from a design so 
inimical and fatal to the cause of Republicanism. 

Sir,— Bogota, Z7th September, 1829. 

If there is any thing in the style, the matter, or the object of this letter, which is calculated to give 
offence to your Excellency, I am persuaded you will readily forgive it, when you reflect on the motives 
which induced me to write it. An old soldier could possess no feelings but those of the kindest character 
towards one who has shed so much lustre on the profession of arms ; nor can a citizen of the country 
of Washington cease to wish that, in Bolivar, the world might behold another instance of the highest 
military attainments, united with the purest patriotism, and the greatest capacity for civil government. 
Such, sir, have been the fond hopes, not only of the people of the United States, but of the friends of 
liberty throughout the world. I will not say that your Excellency has formed projects to defeat these 
hopes. But there is no doubt that they have not only been formed, but are, at this moment, in progress 
to maturity, and openly avowed by those who possess your entire confidence. I will not attribute to 
those men impure motives ; but can they be disinterested advisers "i Are they not the very persons who 
will gain most by the proposed change 1 — who will, indeed, gain all that is to be gained, without fur- 
nishing any part of the equivalents That that, the price of their future wealth and honours, is to be 
furnished exclusively by yourself S And of what does it consist 7 Your great character. Such a one, 
that, if a mart were wise, and possessed of the empire of the Csesars, in its best days, he would give all 
*to obtain. Are you prepared to make this sacrifice, for such an object 1 

I am persuaded that those who advocate these measures, have never dared to induce you to adopt 
them, by any argument founded on your personal interests ; and tliat, to succeed, it would be necessary 
to convince you that no other course remained to save the country from the evils of anarchy. Tltis is 
the question, then, to be examined. 

Does the history of this country, since the adoption of the constitution, really e.xhihit unequivocal 
evidence that the people are unfit to be free t Is the exploded opinion of a European philosopher, of the 
last age, that "in the new hemisphere man is a degraded being," to be renewed, and supported by the 
example of Colombia 1 The proofs should, indeed, be strong, to induce an American to adopt an opinion 
so humiliating. 

Feeling always a deep interest in the success of the revolutions in the late Spanish America, I have 
never been an inattentive observer of events pending, and posterior to the achievement of its independ- 
ence. In these events, I search in vain for a single fact to show that, in Colombia at least, the state of 
society is unsuited to the adoption of a free government. Will it be said that a free government did 
exist, but, being found inadequate to the objects for which it had been instituted, it has been superseded 
by one of a different char;icter, with the concurrence of a majority of the people t 

It is the most ditflcult thing in the world for me to believe that a people in the possession of their 
rights as freemen, would ever be willing to surrender them, and submit themselves to the will of a 
master. If any such instances are on record, the power thus transferred has been in a moment otf 
extreme public danger, and then limited to a very short period. I do not think that it is by any means 
certain, that the majority of the French people favoured the elevation of Napoleon to the throne of 
France. But, if it were so, how different were the circumstances of that country from those of Colom- 
bia, when the constitution of Cucuta was overthrown ! At the period of the elevation of Napoleon to 
the first consulate, all the powers of Europe were the open or secret enemies of France; civil war 
raged within her borders ; the hereditary king possessed many partisans in every province ; the people, 
continually betrayed by the factions which murdered and succeeded each other, had imbibed a portion 
of their ferocity, and every town and village witnessed the indiscriminate slaughter of both men and 
women, of all parties and principles. Does the history of Colombia, since the expulsion of the Spaniards, 
present any parallel to these scenes'? Her frontiers have been never seriously menaced ; no civil war 
raged ; not a partisan of the former government was to be found in the whole extent of her territory; 
no factions contended with each other for the possession of power ; the executive government remained 
in the hands of those to whom it had been committed by the people, in a fair election. In fact, no peo- 
ple ever passed from under the yoke of a despotic government, to the enjoyment of entire freedom, vi'ith 
less disposition to abuse their newly acquired power, than those of Colombia. They submitted, indeed, 
to a continuance of some of the most arbitrary and unjust features which distinguished the former 
government. If there was any disposition, on the part of the great mass of the people, to effect any 
change in the existing order of things ; if the Colombians act from the same motives and upon the same 
principles which govern mankind elsewhere, and in all ages, they would have desired to take from the 
government a part of the power, which, in their inexperience, they had confided to it. The monopoly 
of certain articles of agricultural produce, and the oppressive duty of the Alcavala, might have been 
tolerated, until the last of their tyrants were driven from the country. But when peace was restored, 
when not one enemy remained within its borders, it might reasonably have been supposed that the 
people would have desired to abolish these remains of arbitrary government, and substitute for them 
some tax more equal and accordant with republican principles. 

On the contrary, it is pretended that they had become enamoured with these despotic measures, and 
so disgusted with the freedom ihey did enjoy, that they were more than willing to commit their destinies 
to the uncontrolled will of your Excellency. Let me assure you, sir, that these assertions will gain no 
credit with the present generation, or with posterity. They will demand the facts which had induced 
a people, by no means deficient in intelligence, so soon to abandon the principles for which they had so 
gallantly fought, and tamely surrender that liberty which had been obtained at the expense of so much 
blood. And what facts can be produced? It cannot be said that life and property were not as well pro- 
tected under the republican government, as they have ever been ; nor that there existed any opposition 
to the constitution and laws, too strong for the ordinary powers of the government to put dow n. 

If the insurrection of General Paez, in Venezuela, is adduced, I would ask, by what means was he 
reduced to obedience ■? Your Excellency, the legitimate head of the republic, appeared, and, in a moment, 
all opposition ceased, and Venezuela was restored to the republic. But, it is said, that this was effected 
by vour personal influence, or the dread of your military talents, and that, to keep General I'aez, and 
other ambitious chiefs, from dismembering the republic, it was necessary to invest your Excellency 
with the extraordinary powers you possess. There would be some reason in this, if you had refused to 
act without these powers ; or, having acted as you did, you had been unable to accomplish any thing 
without them. But you succeeded completely, and there can be no possible reason assigned why you 
would not have succeeded, with the same means, against any future attempt of General Paez, or any 
other general. 

91 



APPENDIX. 95 

There appears, however, to be one sentiment lii which all parties unite ; tliat is, that, as matters now 
stand, vou alone can save the country from ruin, at least, from much calamity. Tliey difCf.r, however, 
very wulelv. as In the measures to be taken to put voiir Excellency in the way to render this important 
service. The lesser, and more interested party, is for placing the government in your hands for life ; 
either with your present title, or with one which, it must be confessed, better accords with the nature 
of the powers to be exercised. If they adopt the less olTensive title, and if they weave into their sys- 
tem some apparent checks to vour will, it is only for the purpose of masking, in some degree, their real 
object ; which is nothing short of the establishment of a despotism. The plea of necessity, that eternal 
argument of all conspirators, ancient or modern, against the rights of mankind, will be resorted to, to 
induce you to accede to their measures; and the unsettled state of the country, which has been design- 
edly produced by them, will be adduced as evidence of that necessity. 

There is but one way for your Excellencv to escape from the snares which have been so artfully laid 
to entrap you, and that is. to stop short "in the course which, unfortunately, has been already com- 
menced. Every step you advance, under the influence of such councils, will make retreat more diffi- 
cult, until it will become impracticable. You will be told that the intention is only to vest you with 
authority to correct what is wrong in the administration, and to put down the factions, and that, when 
• he country once enjoys tranquiility, the government may be restored to the people. Delusive will be 
the hopes of those who rely upon this declaration. The promised hour of tranquillity will never arrive. 
If events tended to produce it, thev would be counteracted by the Eovernment itself It was the strong 
remark of a former President of the United States, that, " Sooner will the lover be contented with the 
first smiles of his mistress, than a sovernment cease to endeavour to preserve and extend its powers. 
With whatever reluctance vour Excellencv mav commence the career; with whatever dispositioii to 
abandon it, when the objects for which it was commenced have been obtained; when once fairly 
entered, you will be borne along by the irresistible force of pride, habit of command, and, indeed, ot 
self-preservation, and it will be impossible to recede. 

But, it is said, that it is for the benelit of the people that the proposed change is to be made ; and that 
by your talents and influence, alone, aided by unlimited power, the ambitious chiefs in the different 
departments are to be restrained, and the inteiirity of the republic preserved. I have said, and I most 
sincerely believe, that, from the state into which the country has been brought, that you alone can pre- 
serve it from the horrors of anarchy. But I cannot conceive that any extraordinary powers are neces- 
sary. The authority to see that the laws are executed ; to call out the strength of the country to e^nforce 
their e.xecution, is all that is required, and is what is possessed by the Chief Magistrate of the United 
States, and of every other republic ; and is what was confided to the executive, by the constitution of 
Cucuta. Would your talents or your energies be impaired in the council, or the held, or your influence 
lessened, when acting as the head of a republic ? 

I propose to examine, very briefly, the results which are likely to flow from the proposed change of 
government : 1st, in relation to the country ; and, 2d, to yourself, personally. Is the tranquillity of the 
eountrv to be secured by Ht Is it possible for your Excellency to believe, that when the mask has 
been thrown ofl; and the people discover that a despotic government has been fixed upon them, that 
they will quietlv submit to if! Will they forget the pass-word which, like the cross of fire, was the 
signal for rallvihg to oppose their former tvrantsi Will the virgins, at your bidding, cease to chant 
the songs of liberty, which so lately animated the youth to victory t Was the patriotic blood of Colom- 
bia all expended in the fields of Varsas, Bavaca, and Careboboi The schools may cease to enforce 
upon their pupils the love of eountrv, drawn from the examples of Cato and the Bruti, Harmodius and 
Aristogiton ; but the glorious example of patriotic devotion, exhibited in your own Hacienda, will supply 
their place. Depend on it, sir, that the moment which shall announce the continuance ot arbitrary 
ptiwer in your hands, will be the commencement of commotions which will require all your talents ancL 
energies to suppress. You may succeed. The disciplined army, at your disposal, may be too powerful 
for an unarmed, undisciplined, and scattered population ; hut one unsuccessful effort will not content 
them, and your feelings will be eternally racked by being obliged to make war upon those who have 
been accustomed to call you their father, and to invoke blessings on your head, and tor no cause but 
their adherence to principles which vou yourself had taught them to regard more than their hves. 

If bvthe strong government which the advocates for tlie proposed change so strenuously recommend, 
one without responsibility is intended, which may put men to death, and immure them in dungeons, 
without trial, and one where the army is every thing, and the people nothing, I must say, that, if the 
tranquillity of Colombia is to be preserved in this way, the wildest anarchy would be preferable. Out 
of that anarchy a better government might arise ; but the chains of military despotism once fastened 
upon a nation, ages might pass awav before they could be shaken off". 

But I contend that the strongest of all governmernts is that which is most free. We consider that of 
the United States as the strongest, precisely because it is the most free. It possesses the faculties 
equally to protect itself from foreign force or internal convulsion. In both, it has been sufficiently 
tried. " In no country upon earth, would an armed opposition to the laws be sooner or more effectually 
put down. Not so much by the terrors of the guillotine and the gilibet, as from the aroused determina- 
tion of the nation, exhibiting their strength, and convincing the factious that their cause was hopeless. 
No, sir, depend upon it, that the possession of arbitrary power, by the government of Colombia, will not 
be the meansof securinir itslranciuillitv ; nor w'ill the danger of disturbances solely arise from the oppo- 
sition of the people. The power, and' the military force wliich it will be necessary to put in the hands 
of the governors of the distant provinces, added to the nature of the country, will continually present 
to those officers the temptation, and the means of revolt. 

Will the proposed change restore prosperity to the country? With the best intentions to do so, will 
you be able to recall commerce to its shores and give new life to the drooping state of agriculture t The 
cause of the constant decline, in these great interests, cannot be mistaken. It arises from the fewness 
of those who labour, and the number of those who are to be supported by that labour. To support a 
swann of luxurious and idle monks, and an army greatlv disproportioned to the resources of the country, 
with a body of officers in a tenfold degree disproportioned to the army, every branch of industry is 
oppressed with burdens which deprive" the ingenious man of the profits of his ingenuity, and the 
labourer of his reward. To satisfy the constant and pressing demands which are made upon it, the 
treasury seizes upon every thing within its grasp— destroying the very germ of future prosperity. Is 
there any prospect that these evils will cease with the proposed change t Can the army be dispensed 
withi Will the influence of the monks be no longer necessary? Believe me, sir, that the support 
which the government derives from both these sources, vi-ill be more than ever requisite. 

But the most important inquiry is, the effect which this strong government is to have upon the people 
themselves. Will it tend to improve and elevate their character, and fit them for the freedom which it 
is pretended is ultimately to be bestowed upon them ^ The question has been answered from the age 
of Homer. Man does not learn under oppression those noble qualities and feelings which fit him for 
the enjoyment of liberty. Nor is despotism the jiroper school in which to acquire the knowledge of the 
principles of republican government. A government whose revenues are derived from diverting the 
very sources of wealth from its subjects, will not find the means of improving the morals and enlight- 
ening the minds of the youth, by supporting systems of liberal education ; and, if it could, it would not. 

In relation to the effect which this investment of power is to have upon your happiness and your fame 



96 APPENDIX. 

will thn pomp and glitter of a court, and the flattery of venal courtiers, reward you for the troubles and 
anxieties attendant upon the exercise ofsovereigniy, everywhere, and tliose which will tiow from your 
peciiliar situation'? Or power, supported by tlie liayonct, for that willing hoiiiaie which you were 
wont to receive from your lellow-citizesis 7 The groans of a dissatisfied and oppressed people will 
penetrate the inmost recesses of vour palncc, and you will he tortured by the reflection, that you no 
longer possess th it place in their aifections, which was once your pride and your boast, and which would 
have been yotir solace under every reverse of fortune. Unsupported by tl-.e people, your authority can 
lie maintained only by The terrors of the sword and the scaffold. Atid have these ever been successful 
under similar circumstances 1 Blood may smother, for a period, but can never e.\tinguish the lire of 
liberty, which voii have contributed so much to kimlle, in the l)osoni of every Colombian. 

I will not urge, as an argument, the pprsotin! dangers to whicli vou will be exposed. But I will ask 
if you could enjoy life, which would he preserved by the constant execution of so many human beings— 
your countrymen, your former friends, and almost your worshippers. The pangs of such a situation 
will be made more acute, bv reflecting on the hallowed motive ot' many of those who wotild aim their 
daggers at your bosom, that, like the last of the Romans, they would strike, not from hatred to the 
man, but love to the countrv. 

From a knowledtre of your own disposition, and present feelings, your Excellency will not be willing 
to believe, that yotj cotild ever be hrouglil to commit an act of tyranny, or even to execute jtistice with 
unnecessary rigour. But trust me, sir, that there is nothing more corrupting, nothing more destructive 
of the noblest aiui finest feelings of our nature, than the exercise of unlimited power. The man who, 
in the beginning of such a career, misht shudder at the idea of taking away the life of a fellow-being, 
might soon h;;ve his conscience so seared by the repetition of crime, that the asonies of his murdered 
victims might become music to his soul, and the drippings of his scaflTold afford "blood enough to swim 
in." liistorv is full of such examples. 

From this disgusting picture, permit me to call the attention of your Excellency to one of a diflerent 
character. It exhibits yon as the constitutional Chief Magistrate of a free jieople, giving to their 
representatives the influence of your great name and talents, to reform the abuses which, in a long 
reign of tyrnnny and misrule, have fasteupd upon every branch of the administration. The army, and 
its swarm of ofiicers, reduced within the limits of real usefulness, placed on the frontiers, and no longer 
permitted to confnd public opinion, and be the terror of the peaceful citizen. By the removal of this 
incubus from the treasury, and the establishment of order, responsibility, and economy, in t>ie expendi- 
tures of the government, it would soon be enabled to dispense with the odious monopolies, and the duly 
of the Mkovtila, which have operated with so malign an efre( t upon cnmmerce atid agriculture, and, 
indeed, upon the revenues which they were intemled toaugmetit. Nolonger oppressed by these shackles, 
industry would everywhere revive: the farmer and the artisan, cheered by tlie prospect of ample 
reward'for their labour, would redouble their exertions ; foreigners, with thi-ir capital and skill in the 
arts, wouhl crowd hither. lo enjov the advaiitages which could scarcely, elsewhere, be found: and 
Columbia would soon exhibit Ihe'reality of the beautiful fiction of Fenelon— f>alcntum rising from 
misery and oppression, to prosperity and happiness, under the councils and direcliou of the concealed 
goddess. 

What objections can he ursed against this course i C'tn any one, acquainted with the circumstances 
of the country, doubt its success, in restoring and mainlaiuing trauiinillity ■? The people would certainly 
not revolt against themselves; and none of the chiefs who are supposed to be factifuisly inclined, 
would think of opposing the strensth of the iiaiion, when directed by ycuir talents and authority. Bui 
it is said, that the want of intelligence amongst the people unfits them for the governuient. Is it not 
right, however, tliat the experiment should be fairly tried ? I have already said that this has not been 
done. For myself, I do nol'hesilaie to declare my firm belief that it will succeed. The people of Co- 
lombia possess many traits of character suitable for a republican governmenl. A more orderly, for- 
bearing, and well-dis[)Osed people are nowhere to be met with. Indeed, it may safely he asserted, that 
their faults and vices are aflrilmtable to the cursed government to whiih they have been so long 
subjected, and to the intolerant character of the relicion, whilst their virtu. -s are all their own. But, 
arimiltiiig fheir present want of intelligence, no one has ever dtuibled their capacity to accjiiire knnw- 
ledce. and under tlie strong motives^v.'hich exist, to obtain it, supported by the influence of your 
Excellency, it rt'ould soon he obtained. 

To yourself the advantage would be as great as to the country; like acts of mercy, the blessings 
would be reciprocal ; your personal happiness secured, and your fnue elevated to a height which would 
leave hut a single competiti.ui in the estimation of posterity. In bestowing the palm of merit, the 
world has become wiser than formerly. The successful warrior is no longer regard d as entitled to the 
first pla<:e in the temple of fame. Talents of this kind have become too coiiunon, and too often used for 
mischievous purposes, to be regarded as Ihev once were. In this enlightened age, the mere hero of the 
field, an<l the successful lender of armies, mriv, for the moment, attract, aflention. But it will be such 
as is bestowed upon the passing meteor, whose blaze is no loncer remendiered, when it is no longer 
seen. To be esteemed eminently great, it is necessary to be eminently good. The qualities of the hero 
and the general must be devoted to the advantage of mankird, before he will he permitted to assume 
the til le of their benefactor ; and the station which he will hold in their regard and afl'ecli.uis will depend, 
not upon the number ami the splendour of his victories, hut upon the results and the use he may make 
of the influence he acquires from them. 

If the fime of our Wasjiington depended upon his military achievements, would the common consent 
of the wiuld allow hiui the pre-eminence he possesses^ The victories at Trenton, Monmoulh, and 
York, brilliant as they were, exhibiting, as thev certainly did, the highest grade of military talents, are 
scarcely Ihought of The source of the veneration and esteem which is entertained for his character, 
by every description of politicians— the monarchist and aristocrat, as well as the repiib ican, is to be 
found in bis undevialing and exclusive devotedness to the interest of his country. No sellish considera- 
tion was ever suffered to intrude Itself into his mind. For his coniJry he conquered ; and the unrivalled 
and iiicre:ising prosperity of that country is constantly adding fresh glory to his name. General, the 
course whicbhe pursued is open to you, and it depends upon yourself to attain the eminence which he 
has reached before you. j .r-, u ,. n 

To the eyes of miiilarv men, the laurels you won on the fields of Vargas, Bayaca, and Carebobo, will 
be forever' areen ; hut 'will that content "yon •? Are you willing that y(uir name slnuild descend to 
posterity, amon.est the mass of those whose' fime has been derived from shedding human blood, without 
a sinsle'advantage to the human race'! Or, shall it be united to that of Wasbinctim, as the founder 
and the father of a gre;it and happv people ■» The choice is before you. The friends of liberty 
throughout the world, and the people of the United States in particular, are waiting your decision with 
intense anxiety. Alexander toiled and conquered to attain the applause of the Alhenians ; will you 
regard aa nothiig the opinionsofa nation which has evinced its superiority over that celebrated people, 
in the science most useful lo man, by having carried into actual practice a system of government, of 
which the wisest Athenians had but a glimpse in theory, and considered as a blessing never lo be 
realized, however ardently to be desired 1 The place which you are to occupy in their esteem depends 
upon yourself Farewell. W. H. HARRISON. 



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